Family Bonds
by TheBeautifulNerd
Summary: After her mother is taken ill, Lily is left to take care of her younger siblings. As she tries her best to hide her struggles from everyone, Iain begins to grow suspicious of her behaviour and it isn't long until he realises that he has quite a lot in common with his girlfriend.
1. Chapter 1

**So here is a new story from me, all about Lily and Iain** **again. It's an idea I had ages ago so I thought I'd get started on it.**

Chapter One

Someone pressed the buzzer of number 32.

Lily had been in her room at the time, working on a report for work, It was ten o'clock on a Tuesday night so it frightened her in a way, wondering who on earth would be popping by to see her at that time. She sighed heavily and left her desk to go and answer the door.

"Hello?" She spoke.

"Lily," a familiar voice appeared on the other end. "It's Aunty Bo. I have the girls with me, could I come in?"

"Sure," Lily agreed reluctantly, pressing a button to allow her into the block of flats.

She ran a hand through her hair and yawned, wearily going to unlock the front door so that her aunt could let herself in. Turning round, she realised the state that her flat was in. She really should have spent her day off tidying, however the report was important and she was still nowhere near finished with it.

"Lily?"

The door opened and Aunty Bo entered, two young girls at her side. They immediately squealed with delight when they saw their big sister and rushed to fight each other for a hug. Lily laughed and crouched down to cuddle them both at once. It had only been two weeks since she saw them, but they'd still grown.

Saffron was the middle child. She was only eight and she had autism so she didn't speak much, but she definitely had the looks of the family. Her hair was shiny and black and it cascaded all the way down her back. She had a pretty face and was often seen wearing dresses or skirts, she could have easily become a child model.

Courtney was the youngest. She was only seven, and she was completely the opposite to her sisters. She was a tomboy, always dressed in jeans and dungarees. She loved sports, wore glasses just like Lily, and already knew that she wanted to be a doctor as well. Either that or open up her own zoo or football stadium.

Lily loved her sisters and since her father's death, she hadn't seen much of them. There weren't many people who knew that Lily had siblings, but the ones who did couldn't quite believe the age gap between them all. Lily was twenty-eight and had moved out, Saffron and Courtney weren't even at secondary school yet.

"I'm sorry it's late," she apologised straight away. "But I've just gone to visit your mother. You weren't asleep, were you?"

"No." Lily shook her head. "I have some work I need to finish. How is she doing?"

"She was quite tired when I left her," she said. "But she is doing okay. I came Lily, because we need to talk about the girls."

She crouched down to Saffron and Courtney and whispered for them to go and take a seat in the living room, in Chinese of course. Lily loved the fact that her sisters were learning about their heritage, even though they'd both been born in England.

"You can watch whatever you want on TV, girls," Lily said, as the two of them hurried into the living room. "Would you like a drink, Aunty?"

"That would be nice," she replied, and she and Lily went into the kitchen. "So, why do we need to talk about the girls?" Lily asked, as she boiled the kettle and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cupboard. "I thought that they would be staying with you."

"I have to travel back to Hong Kong, Lily," she said. "I can't take the girls all the way to China with me, whilst their mother and sister are in England. Besides, they have school and their friends."

"But mother can't take care of them," Lily said, as she popped a teabag into each mug and poured the water into it. "How do you take it?"

"Milk, no sugar please," she replied. "And obviously she can't. I was hoping that you would."

"Me?" Lily's eyes widened, missing the mug altogether and getting boiling hot water all over the counter. "I can't," she said, grabbing a towel and wiping over it. "Not in this place."

"You have a spare bedroom, don't you?" She said. "The girls can easily share. You're their sister, Lily."

"I'm worried about mum as well," Lily pointed out. "And whilst she's in hospital, I...I need to focus on myself. There's my job as well, the fact that I work night and weekend shifts, and...Saffron's autism."

"Saffron is only mildly autistic," her aunt mentioned. "And she's getting the support. I know you're worried as well, that's only natural, and surely your boss will be able to change your shifts round."

Lily knew that she couldn't tell Connie about her sisters, or her mum. She struggled to tell her when her father had died, she didn't want to seem weak and vulnerable, and she had never been one to ask for help either.

"There's no one else to take care of them," her aunt continued. "And I can't stay in England. They're such well-behaved girls and not any trouble at all, you know that. They love you Lily, they've not stopped talking about you since I told them that we were coming here."

"Do they realise how bad mum is?" Lily whispered, pouring some milk into a mug and handing it over to her aunt. "Will I have to explain everything to them?"

"They don't need to know," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "As far as they're aware, your mother is ill and unable to look after them properly at the moment."

The door to the kitchen opened and Saffron walked in, immediately going across to Lily and tugging on the sleeve of her shirt.

"Come watch oink oink," the young girl begged.

"What?" Lily frowned at her, before turning to address her aunt. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, that's her word for Peppa Pig," she said. "Courtney watches it, and Saffron's grown to like it as well. Personally I think she's growing a little bit too old for it, but what can you do? Poor girl is always going to be just that bit behind everyone else."

"Oink oink!" Saffron repeated.

"Saffron, your sister and I are having an important chat," Aunty Bo said to the young girl. "Go and watch it by yourself and we will come in when we've finished." Saffron remained rooted to the spot. "Go," she ordered in a gentle tone.

The girl fled the kitchen at once.

"You see?" Lily sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not used to children. You know everything, I had no idea what oink oink meant. To me, it's just a noise that pigs make."

"It comes with practice though," she said. "And I will always be just a phone call away."

Sadness filled Lily. If her aunt moved back to China, if her dad was dead and her mum was in hospital, and if she refused to take the girls in then what would happen to them? Foster care probably, and she couldn't allow that.

"I'll need some help to collect their things," Lily whispered. "Toys, clothes, beds as well."

She nodded and said, "of course, of course. I shall help with all of that. We'll get a moving van sorted out, and I'll make sure that you're all settled before I catch my plane."

There was a pause and Lily forced a smile.

"Thank you for this though, Lily," she said, smiling kindly at her niece. "It means a lot, to me and to your mother. Your father would be proud."

"I hope so," Lily muttered under her breath.

"How is your job going anyway?" She asked, having some more of her drink. "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"

"Work is fine," Lily answered as honestly as she could. "We're rather busy at the moment so I've been working quite a lot of extra hours. I do have a boyfriend yes, he's name is Iain and we've only been together for a couple of weeks."

"And he works at the hospital too?" She asked.

"Yes." Lily gave a firm nod. "He's a paramedic. I um...I haven't told mum yet."

"You should," she encouraged. "The good news might help her."

"But it won't cure her, will it?" Lily whispered and tipped the remains of her tea down the sink. "Sorry. You're right, I should tell her. I'm just not sure if Iain is her type of man, you know?"

"Well of course not!" She said, but then gave Lily a jokey wink. "He's your type."

Lily stifled a laugh. She'd always got on well with her aunt, it was just a shame that they didn't see more of each other.

"Come on," Aunty Bo eventually sighed. "Let's go and watch Peppa Pig."

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lekyla19Casualty: Thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying the story :-)**

 **MrsWhovian: Nice to see that you're reviewing another one of my stories. Thanks for another lovely comment from you :-)**

 **CasualtyFanForever81: Thank you :-)**

Chapter Two

Having her aunt around made looking after the girls so much easier. The time soon came though when everything had been moved into Lily's flat, and Lily was left to look after Saffron and Courtney by herself.

Aunty Bo had given her a list of things that she should know about, like Courtney's severe peanut allergy and the fact that Saffron could only drink out of one particular cup and nothing else. The list was two pages long and Lily had to admit that it caused a huge bubble of panic to waft over her.

As soon as her aunt had left, Lily had booked the weekend off work, making up some lie to Connie about how she was going away with her mum. How much, she wished that had been true. Instead, she'd spent it settling the girls in and waiting for her aunt to text her when she was on the plane. It hadn't been the most relaxing weekend.

Then Monday came and she realised how difficult it was to get her sisters ready for school, something that Aunty Bo had failed to mention.

"Courtney!" She yelled, as she poured some cereal into a bowl for Saffron. "Courtney, breakfast!"

"Breakfast!" Saffron just repeated, shovelling a spoonful of cornflakes into her mouth.

Milk ran down her chin and landed onto her school dress. Lily sighed heavily and shook her head, grabbing a piece of kitchen roll to wipe at the mess around her mouth. She ruffled her hair and headed into the living room to check where Courtney was, her eyes diverting to the unfinished report that sat on the coffee table.

"Lily?"

She picked up the report and turned her head to see that Courtney was standing in the doorway, dressed but with no shoes on.

"There you are," Lily sighed. "We're going to be late, Courtney. Go and get your shoes on. Breakfast is on the table."

"I don't have any." Courtney shrugged her shoulders. "Shoes," she added in a small, sweet voice.

"What do you mean?" Lily frowned at her. "You don't have any school shoes?"

"Aunty was going to buy me some new ones," she said. "But she always forgot. My old ones got wet."

"Great," Lily muttered sarcastically to herself, and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, wear your trainers today. I'll come into the school with you and tell your teachers what's happened."

"Will I get into trouble?" Courtney asked.

She reminded Lily so much of her younger self, constantly worrying about getting into trouble if she did the wrong thing. It made her smile.

"You won't," she reassured her little sister and walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll talk to your teacher. Come on, come and have some breakfast."

Feeling comforted, Courtney nodded and made her way into the kitchen. She sat down next to Saffron and helped herself to cereal, whilst Lily went to make herself a coffee.

"So, you two are going to go to homework club after school," Lily told them both. "Then I'll pick you up at half past four on the dot."

"Why?" Courtney asked.

"Three o'clock," Saffron whined, feeling a little anxious at her change of routine. "Three!"

"What she means is, we always get picked up from school at three o'clock," Courtney rephrased for Lily.

Lily wondered if Courtney really was seven-years-old. She acted so mature for her age, but Aunty Bo had told her that she'd often had to step in and help Saffron with certain things when her mum was unable to. She loved how close the two of them were, how much Courtney was there for her older sister. It was a lovely sight to watch.

"I know," she sighed, joining them at the table. "But I finish work late, so you're going to have to go to homework club for me. You'll have fun."

"Will we always have to go?" Courtney asked. "Saffron has dance club on Friday's, and I have football."

"Most days," Lily answered. "But you can still do your activities, don't worry about that." Courtney nodded, and had a spoonful of her cereal. "We'll talk about it later," Lily told her. "You can't be late for school."

* * *

Lily had been so focused on making sure that the girls weren't late for school, that being late for work hadn't even crossed her mind. Until it actually happened. It was only by fifteen minutes but she knew that Connie would flip her lid anyway, she didn't tolerate lateness.

"There's my beautiful girlfriend," Iain said, as Lily passed him on the way to the ED entrance. "I was worried that you weren't going to show," he said, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a kiss. "You're never usually late. Is everything okay?"

Lily took a deep breath and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. Iain had been so worried about her and she couldn't even bring herself to tell him the truth. She felt like such a terrible girlfriend.

"Things are fine," she lied quickly. "My...My alarm just didn't go off, that's all. Mrs Beauchamp's going to kill me though."

"Nah, course she won't," he said. "It's not like you're always late for work, is it? These things happen Lily, she'll understand." Lily forced a smile and shrugged her shoulders, as he continued to stroke her hair. "You know what your problem is, Chuckles?"

"What's that?" She sighed.

"You care too much about what people think," he said. "You work so hard, you offer to cover shifts and do extra hours, so you shouldn't worry so much when you're late or sick."

"I wish I had your attitude," Lily laughed.

"Come here," he said and pressed his lips against hers. "Why don't I take you out for a drink after work, eh? My treat."

Lily chewed on her lip and thought about the girls. She needed to collect from them school at half four, and there was no one else to look after them.

"I can't," she said. "I'm really sorry, I...I have a lot of work to finish."

"Okay?" He frowned, folding his arms across his chest. "Tomorrow?"

"Sorry." Lily shook her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you free for lunch?"

"Should be," he sighed. "If that's okay with you."

"That's fine," Lily said. "I usually take my break around one o'clock. I'll come and find you, okay?"

Iain smiled at her, kissed her on the cheek and said, "that sounds perfect. I can't wait."

"Neither can I," Lily said. "Now I better go, seeing as I'm already late."

"Alright, I'll see you later," Iain said, giving her a gentle pat on the back. "Have a good shift."

Lily nodded at him and returned the kiss, before making her way through the doors of the ED. She couldn't see Connie anywhere, which was probably a good thing, but then Dylan came over to her and asked if she was able to pop by the office straight away. Lily felt physically sick.

She dropped her bag off at her locker and had a quick swig of water before walking off to see Connie. She hovered outside the door for a few seconds, but eventually built up the courage to knock.

"Come in," Connie called.

Lily opened the door and walked on in, making sure to shut it behind her.

"You wanted to see me, Mrs Beauchamp?" She asked.

"Indeed." Connie glanced up at her over her paperwork. "What time were you due to start your shift today, Doctor Chao?"

"Um...Nine," Lily answered.

"I thought so, so care to tell me why you're so late?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily apologised. "My alarm didn't go off this morning."

"That's no excuse," Connie said. "Now I understand that you and Mr Dean are now a couple and I am very happy for you both, but you can't let your relationship distract you from your duties."

"I'm not, believe me," Lily cut in. "I really am sorry Mrs Beauchamp, and I'll make sure that it won't happen again."

"It better not," Connie said. "Now to make up for your lateness, would you be able to work a couple of extra hours today?"

Lily hesitated and the sickness returned to her stomach.

"I can't," she said. "I'm really sorry, but...I can't. I have plans."

"Whatever could you be doing, Lily?" She asked. "Working overtime has never been a problem before. Why now?"

Lily's chest tightened and she could feel herself beginning to get stressed and anxious. She shifted uncomfortably on the spot and gulped, fiddling anxiously with the sleeves of her blouse.

"I have an appointment," she lied quickly. "I've already rescheduled it so many times, I...I can't do it again."

"Right," Connie sighed, knowing how unprofessional it was to question her staff regarding appointments. Those were always so confidential and no one was forced to explain themselves if they didn't want to. "I'll let you off just this once, okay? Are you able to start a little earlier in the morning?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Lily said. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," Connie said. "I'll let you head off. I want you in resus today."

"Sure thing, I won't let you down," Lily said, putting a smile on her face before heading out of the office.

Once outside, she held a hand to her head and took some time to compose herself. It was going to be a long day.

 **Thank you for all of the reads, follows, favourites, and reviews on the first chapter. Here's the second, so I hope you like it :-) x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lekyla19Casualty: Thank you. It will continue for a while, I have lots of plans for it.**

 **Guest: Hey, sorry if this comment is going to seem like I'm rambling. To be honest, this is actually one of my happier stories. It may not seem like it so far but it is, it's mainly a cute/family/romance story. I also have my story "A Wedding, A Baby, and a Little Bit of Drama" which is mainly family/romance. My stories will always include some kind of drama because most books include that; I can't just write stuff which is all happy either. (I don't know why but I find it difficult). I like some sort of drama thrown in there, also it's Casualty which is classed as a "medical drama." And Lily may seem stressed and anxious in this regarding work, but that's just what her character is like as seen in the show. I hope this clears things up a little bit. You don't have to read my work if you don't want to but just so you're aware, even my happy stories will have some kind of drama thrown in there at some point. Thank you :-)**

Chapter Three

Lily wasn't able to go on her break until two o'clock but she'd managed to find Iain and let him know, so he didn't think that she was blowing him off again. He might not have thought that before, but Lily had her suspicions.

When her break came round, she made her way outside and across to the ambulance bay where she saw Iain playing a small game of basketball by himself.

"Hey, sorry about that," she said, walking over and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I have been so ridiculously busy today, and Mrs Beauchamp still isn't very happy with my lateness. I think she's trying to punish me."

"Just like a naughty, little, school kid," he teased, kissing her on the lips. "I missed you."

"You've been walking by me all day," Lily stated, frowning at him in confusion. "And I spoke to you about an hour ago."

"I know," he laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and hugging her. "But you're my girlfriend and I don't like to be away from you. Are you still busy later?"

"Afraid so," Lily sighed. "But we're making up for that time now, aren't we? Come on, where do you want to go for lunch?"

"How about the little cafe just down the road?" Iain asked. "Have you been before?" Lily shook her head. "It's nothing special but it has a nice atmosphere, and it's quiet as well. I know how you don't like anywhere too busy."

"And there isn't anything wrong with that," Lily laughed, as he ruffled her hair. "Don't. You'll mess my hair up."

"Come on," he laughed with her. "Let's get going before Mrs Beauchamp calls you back to work."

"She won't," Lily said. "I made it clear that I was meeting you. Even she couldn't ruin a date, she may be the ice queen but she isn't that cold."

"I don't know, she could be jealous." Iain shrugged his shoulders, and tossed the basketball over his shoulder. "I am extremely attractive."

"But I don't think you're Mrs Beauchamp's type," Lily said, and the two of them began to walk down towards the cafe. "Besides, you're mine." Iain couldn't argue with that and he nodded in agreement with her. "How's Gem doing anyway?"

"She's okay," Iain sighed. "She's still a little brat, and isn't the easiest teenager to deal with."

"Don't be mean," Lily told him. "She sounds as if she's trying really hard."

"She is, to be fair," Iain said. "And I caught her studying all by herself the other night, without even being asked to. You're a good teacher, I think she's scared of angering you."

"Really?" Lily scoffed.

"Well, you can be pretty scary," he said, nudging her arm. "I could murder a bacon sandwich. Is that too greedy?"

"I wouldn't say so," Lily said, as they entered the cafe. "You can have what you like. And seeing as you're paying, I may go for the most expensive thing on the menu."

"Don't you dare," Iain chuckled, and gave her shoulder a rub. "Shall we sit by the window?"

Lily nodded and the two of them took a seat at the only table that was by the window. Lily slipped her coat off and examined the place, thinking about how much Saffron and Courtney would like it. They even had colouring sheets and boxes of crayons at the counter.

"I'm definitely going for a bacon sandwich," Iain said, when he realised that they were still selling them and that they didn't just do them at breakfast time. "What about you?"

"I quite fancy a cheese toastie," Lily said, scanning the menu. "I'm not sure, everything looks nice."

"It does," Iain agreed.

The two of them soon decided what they wanted to eat though and made their order, so that they were then able to relax and chat. Lily sipped at her drink and Iain reached across the table to take hold of her hand.

"You know what we should do," he said, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "Take a trip to the beach. I haven't been in ages and it's nice and peaceful there, we could take a romantic stroll along the sand."

"We just need to work out a day where we're both off work," Lily said.

And work out a day where her sisters were at school, she also thought but didn't say out loud. She wondered how Iain would react if she told him that she was having to take care of her siblings, it wasn't the usual thing to throw on your boyfriend.

"The beach sounds nice though," Lily said quickly, realising that she'd fallen into a trance. "I've probably been twice in my whole life, so it'd make a nice change."

"Twice?" Iain raised his eyebrows at her. "You're twenty-eight years of age and you've only been twice?"

"My parents weren't the usual parents, okay?" Lily said, embarrassed, but also smiling when she said it. "They cared more about grades."

"Couldn't you have taken your books to the beach or something?" Iain joked. "Don't worry. We definitely have to go now though, okay? It's a must."

"Of course," Lily said, entwining her fingers in his. "How did I end up with such an amazing boyfriend like you?"

"Let me think..." Iain pretended to ponder for a few seconds. "Well, my sister knocked you down with her car and I suddenly began to realise my true feelings. It's just a bit like Snow White really, isn't it?"

"Let's not relive the moment," Lily said. "But I'm kind of glad I got hit by a car in a way."

"Strange, but okay," Iain said, sipping at his coffee.

"Well, we may never have got together," Lily said. "If I hadn't been hit, we may still be living our lives hiding our feelings from each other."

"Yeah," Iain whispered.

The two smiled at each other across the table, just as the waitress came over with their food. She asked if they wanted anything else, to which they both shook their heads, and beamed at the relationship that they had with each other.

"You two look as if you're celebrating a special occasion," she mentioned.

"We're not," Lily said. "We're just on a date."

"Yeah," Iain sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Long day at work and all, we kind of needed one."

"Well you look very happy with each other," she said. "Enjoy your food."

"She was nice," Iain said, when the waitress had left to go and see to some other customers.

"I saw you checking her out," Lily teased, tucking into her lunch.

"I was not!" Iain defended.

"It's fine, I'm joking," Lily interrupted. "Don't worry."

"I bet you check out other men all the time," Iain said. "Here's a random question for you. If you had to date one celebrity, who would it be?"

"I don't know." Lily frowned at him. "I don't tend to think about stuff like that."

"You must do," Iain said. "All women do. Come on Doctor Chao, I'll then tell you my dream celebrity."

"This is so weird," Lily said, and tried to think of a celebrity who she found quite fanciable. "Okay...Don't tell anybody this, but I quite like Danny Dyer from Eastenders."

"Seriously?" Iain chuckled. "That idiot. Jeez Lily, I thought that you were better than that."

"It's my guilty pleasure, alright?" Lily giggled. "Don't tell anyone. So, what about you?"

"Jennifer Lawrence," Iain answered with no hesitation whatsoever. "I absolutely adore that woman."

"Well you've given that a lot of thought," Lily said. "You didn't even need to think about it."

Iain shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say?" He sighed. "I'm actually quite embarrassed now. Whatever is said at this table, stays at this table. Understand?"

"Of course," Lily said. "I'm Doctor Chao, Ice Princess. I can't have everyone in the ED knowing that I fancy Danny Dyer, what would that do to my reputation?"

"A lot of things," Iain said. "How's your toastie anyway? Nice?"

"Lovely," Lily said, continuing to tuck in. "Thanks for lunch. I don't want to go back to work now."

"I never thought that I'd hear you say that," he laughed, licking the bacon grease off of his fingers. "We could do this again tomorrow if you want. I need to see more of my beautiful girlfriend, don't I?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded at him, and he reached across to give her hand another gentle rub. "I'd like that."

 **So I'd already written this chapter in advance. I thought I'd post it now though seeing as people are enjoying it, and seeing as I'm back at work tomorrow as well. I hope you liked reading about their cute little date :-) x**

 **For the record, I love Danny Dyer haha!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lekyla19Casualty: Thank you so much, really glad that you're enjoying the story :-)**

Chapter Four

"So did you two have a good day at school?" Lily asked, after she'd picked Saffron and Courtney up.

Saffron didn't respond, she was too busy jumping over every crack in the pavement clearly having the time of her life. Courtney held onto Lily's hand and skipped along beside her, nodding and holding up a picture that she'd drawn at school.

"Did you do that for me?" Lily asked the young girl.

She wasn't used to having pictures drawn for her by children. One time at work, a six year old had been admitted after breaking his arm at the park and he'd drawn Ethan a picture before he went home. Lily and Ethan had both treated him, but for some reason he'd grown more attached to him.

"I did it for mum," Courtney said.

Lily's heart broke.

"Can we go and give it to her?" Courtney asked.

"Not right now, sweetheart," Lily sighed. "Visiting hours will be over and I need to get you and Saffron home for dinner." Courtney's smile dropped, but she nodded anyway. "How about we go at the weekend?" Lily suggested. "You can give it to her then. We could get you some new school shoes as well."

"Can we?" Courtney squealed, her smile soon returning to her face.

"Sure," Lily said, turning round to see that Saffron had stopped and was just looking down at her arm. "Saffron, hurry up!" She sighed and let go of Courtney's hand, before making her way over to her other sister. "Saff, what's the matter?"

"Look," Saffron said and held out her arm.

There was a very small and delicate ladybird strolling along her arm and Lily couldn't work out whether Saffron was scared or completely fascinated in the creature.

"It won't hurt you," Lily said. "We'll put it on the ground, yeah?"

"Don't do that!" Courtney piped up, rushing over to her sisters. "It might get stepped on! She's really cute, can we keep her Lily?"

"How do you know it's a girl?" Lily asked.

"All ladybirds are," the youngster stated. "They're so beautiful. Please can we keep her? I'll take real good care of her."

"You can't have a ladybird as a pet," Lily sighed, gently removing the creature from Saffron's arm and placing it on a nearby flower. "She'll be nice and safe there, ladybirds love leaves and flowers."

"Does she have a family?" Courtney asked.

"I'm sure she does," Lily reassured her, watching as the ladybird crawled away. "She'll be going back to them now."

Saffron whimpered and knelt on the ground, her school skirt getting all messy and covered in dirt. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and tried to reach for the ladybird but it had already crawled through a hole in the fence.

"Come on, you two," Lily laughed. "Let's go or we'll never make it home."

Lily took hold of their hands and walked them all the way back to her block of flats. Saffron kept repeating the word "bug" over and over again, clearly wanting to go back to see the ladybird. As soon as Lily had sat her down in the living room with Peppa Pig though, she forgot all about it.

"I did sums in homework club today," Courtney said, as she sat at the kitchen table with a yogurt and a glass of apple juice. "I got them all right as well."

"Well done," Lily praised. "I've always been good at maths myself."

"I like it," Courtney said. "What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti Bolognaise," Lily said, as she rooted through the cupboards. "And you and Saffron are going to have to go to breakfast club tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Courtney asked. "Why can't we eat breakfast with you?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Lily said. "My boss wants me at work quite early tomorrow, so I'm going to have to drop you off at school a little earlier than usual. I'll try and sort things out for us all, I promise. Things are just going to be a bit different for the time being."

"Saffron won't like that," Courtney said.

"Well," Lily sighed. "I don't overly like it myself. I'll sort it though, you'll see."

"Would I make a good doctor?" Courtney asked, licking the remains of her yogurt off the spoon.

"I think you'd make a great doctor," Lily said, as she began to get the ingredients ready for dinner. "It isn't easy though. It takes years and years of hard work."

"I know," Courtney said, shrugging her shoulders.

Lily smiled at the determination that her sister had, just as Saffron began screaming from the other room. Courtney gasped dramatically and spun round in her chair, her spoon clattering to the floor. Lily was about to go and see what had happened when Saffron burst in; completely red in the face with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Saffron, what's happened?" Lily asked, crouching down in front of her.

"Maybe Peppa Pig has finished," Courtney said, trying her best to be helpful. "She doesn't like that."

"Thank you," Lily whispered and turned back to address Saffron. "What's wrong, Saffron?"

Saffron pointed to her school skirt and Lily noticed that there was a grass stain where Saffron had knelt down earlier. She sighed and took the hem of her skirt to try and brush it off.

"That's okay," Lily said. "I'll wash that for you, yes? Don't get upset, it's only a bit of grass."

Saffron kept crying though, tears continuing to fall, letting out the odd scream every now and then.

"Princess, stop crying," Lily said, lifting her up and sitting her on the edge of the table. "I can wash your skirt tonight. You can wear something else at the moment if you want to?"

"All dirty!" Saffron screamed, hiccupping in between each sob.

"But Lily can wash it, Saffron," Courtney said. "Just like mummy used to do."

"Mummy!" Saffron then cried, looking around as if she was expecting her mum to pop up out of nowhere.

"Hey Saffron," Lily said, causing Saffron to swing her body back round so that she was facing Lily. "Why don't you go and choose something else to put on instead? I'll come and help you in a little while, okay?" Saffron just stared at her. "Come on, go and choose one of your nice dresses," Lily said, lifting her off of the table. "And I'll come and help you."

At once, the eight year old hurried off to her and Courtney's bedroom.

"You're great with her," Lily said to the youngest. "Which is why I think you'd make such a brilliant doctor."

"People always think I'm older," Courtney laughed, dramatically slapping a hand to her forehead. "But I'm not! It's very silly and can get very annoying."

Lily tried to stop herself from giggling, and just nodded in agreement. "I bet it is," she replied. "I always acted older than I actually was though. It isn't a bad thing. People don't make fun of you at all, do they?"

"Sometimes." Courtney gave a shrug. "The girls in my class laugh."

"Well, you just ignore them," Lily said. "You are a very unique, little girl so don't you forget that. Saffron's very lucky to have such a kind and caring little sister to look out for her."

Courtney gave Lily an idolising grin and whispered shyly, "thank you."

Lily loved how polite they both were. Of course their parents had been good though, strict but kind. One of these days, she hoped to become the mother that her own mother had been. She'd be more than proud.

"I have an idea," Lily said, taking Courtney's small hand in hers. "We'll go and help Saffron find something clean to wear. Then how about we cook dinner, and we can make cupcakes for after? Does that sound good?"

"Yes," Courtney said, punching the air with her fist.

"Good girl," Lily said, kissing the top of her head. "And I meant what I said, okay? We'll visit mum this weekend. I promise."

 **Just a cute filler chapter, showing how family life is going for them x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lekyla19Casualty: Me too, I thought that would be quite interesting to explore. I just want my readers to realise that Courtney is actually the youngest. Thank you. Lily and Connie are my favourite characters but I tend to write more about Lily. I will be, you'll see that here :-)**

 **livingthefictionallife: It must be, bless her. Iain will show up in the next chapter.**

Chapter Five

The rest of the week had flown by.

Although Lily wasn't too happy about sending her sisters to breakfast club, it had worked out well for all three of them. Not only did it mean that they'd be at school on time for classes, but it also meant that she could get to work on time. Surprisingly, Saffron had settled into the new routine rather well.

Saturday soon came round and Lily was supposed to be working; however she'd booked the day off so that she could take Saffron and Courtney shopping, and so that they could visit their mum.

"Do you like those ones?" Lily asked.

She was sat on a chair in one of the local shoe shops, her arms wrapped around Saffron who sat on her lap. Courtney was walking up and down the store, jumping, skipping, and completely admiring the shiny, black shoes that she had on her feet.

"I think so," she said, jumping again and causing her pigtails to bound up and down on her head. "They're really comfy."

"They look good on you," Lily said. "What do you think Saffron? Do they look good on your sister?"

Saffron just nodded, even though she wasn't looking at Courtney's shoes. She was pointing to a pair of flashing, pink, Barbie trainers.

"You don't need any new shoes," Lily laughed, kissing the top of Saffron's head. "You have some flashing shoes at home, don't you?" She lifted her head and turned her attention back to the youngest, "so Courtney, would you like those ones? Or do you want to have a look at some more?"

"I want these," Courtney said, making her way over to Lily.

"Yeah, are you sure?" Lily checked with her, but she gave a very firm nod. "Okay." She turned to the woman who was standing nearby and said, "we'll take these ones, thank you."

Courtney bent down and slipped the shoes off of her feet. Luckily, Lily had chosen a pair that didn't involve laces or any complicated way of doing them up, and they easily just slid on and off.

"I'll package them up and put them behind the till for you," the woman said kindly, placing the shoes back in the box.

"Now I don't have to wear my trainers to school," Courtney said, as she put her own shoes back onto her feet. "My teacher will be happy, won't she?"

"She will," Lily said. "Now, why don't you be a big girl for me and pay for your new shoes all by yourself?"

She stood up with Saffron in her arms and placed her back down on the floor, so that she could reach into her bag for some money. Courtney beamed proudly and took the money over to the desk. Lily followed to make sure that she was okay, keeping a tight grip on Saffron's hand.

"Are you hungry?" Lily asked her. "Shall we go and get some lunch after this?"

Saffron squealed with excitement and jumped up and down, shyly burying her face in Lily's shirt. Lily could feel the stares that she was getting from the other customers in the shop and knew exactly what they were thinking; Saffron looked like a totally normal child so was just badly behaved, caused by bad parenting.

"Lily?" Courtney questioned, turning to face her sister. "Do I want my change?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Lily laughed, rolling her eyes. "You do."

Courtney nodded and took the money and her new school shoes, before hurrying up to Lily with a huge smile on her face. She was completely in love with her new shoes, but she was also proud of the fact that she'd paid for them by herself.

They went to Subway for lunch, somewhere that Courtney and Saffron both loved.

"Bear bear!" Saffron shouted, as they found a seat by the window.

She knelt on the chair and pressed her face against the glass, grinning and continuing to shout. Lily soon saw what she was looking at and kicked herself for the decision of sitting by the window. They were sat opposite a massive Build a Bear, Saffron's favourite shop.

"Saffron, get down," Lily said, gently taking her hand and turning her round. "Sit properly and eat your sandwich for me."

"Bear!" Saffron screamed, beginning to kick her legs. "Bear!"

Lily tried to ignore her, as she unwrapped Saffron's sandwich. Courtney however sat properly on her seat and politely ate her sandwich in silence. Lily couldn't help but feel bad and she wanted to try and give Courtney as much attention as possible, it couldn't have been easy having an older sister with special needs.

"Is that nice?" Lily asked Courtney, over Saffron's loud screams.

"Yes, thank you," Courtney whispered, taking another big bite.

"Saffron, come on," Lily said, beginning to lose her patience. "Stop screaming. We'll go to Build a Bear after lunch, okay? You need to eat first though."

Saffron didn't seem to be listening and Lily could hear the other customers muttering about them under their breath. She felt so embarrassed, even though she knew it was something that Saffron couldn't help.

Honestly, she wished that she'd just gone into work instead.

* * *

Saffron and Courtney clutched their new toys to their chests, giggling with pure delight and excitement. Saffron had eventually calmed down when they reached Build a Bear, but she'd screamed and kicked up a huge fuss all the way through lunch. Really Lily knew that she shouldn't have treated her to a bear, but it was only a tiny one and Courtney wanted one as well.

"Now," Lily sighed, after they'd left the shopping centre.

Lily held the bag with Courtney's school shoes, and the girls bears in. Courtney was carefully holding a pretty bouquet of flowers as well as the drawing that she'd done for their mum at school. Saffron held her own picture, and a get well card from the three of them.

"You two need to be good in here," Lily whispered, crouching down to the level so that she could talk to them. "We're going to visit mum but you need to know that she is very, very poorly at the moment."

"Will she throw up?" Courtney asked. "I threw up at school once. It went everywhere."

Saffron laughed, holding the bits of paper to her face.

"I don't know," Lily said, trying to put on a brave face for the two youngsters. "But you need to be quiet and gentle."

"Why is she not in your hospital, Lily?" Courtney asked.

"This is a special place," Lily said, gently stroking at Courtney's hair. "Where people who aren't very well at all go. She may be a little tired and there's going to be lots of doctors and nurses around. Also, it...It's okay to get upset if you feel sad."

Courtney faintly nodded, small tears filling her eyes. Saffron didn't seem to be showing any emotion towards the situation at all.

"Are you sure you want to see her?" Lily asked, and Courtney sniffed and nodded. "Come here, sweetheart," Lily said, holding her arms out and lifting her into her arms, making sure that the flowers wouldn't get squashed. "It's okay, stay with me yeah?"

She kissed her on the cheek and freed up an arm so that she could take Saffron's hand, before walking into the hospice.

"Lily Chao," she introduced herself to the woman at the desk. "We're here to see Li Na Chao, we're her daughters."

"Of course, I'll just find her doctor," the receptionist said. "Take a seat."

The two girls suddenly went very quiet. Saffron had stuck her thumb in her mouth, something that she did when she was upset or scared, and Courtney rested her head against Lily's chest, shiny tears showing through the lenses in her glasses. Lily stroked the hair out of Courtney's face and rested her chin on the top of her head, feeling close to tears herself.

"Lily Chao!"

Lily looked up to see a female doctor, going by the name of Julie, stood in front of her.

"Would you like to come with me?" She asked, and Lily stood up with Courtney in her arms. She quickly took Saffron's hand so that she wouldn't run off and followed the doctor along the corridor. "Your mum is doing okay," she said. "She's awake at the moment, but feeling rather tired." She sighed and examined the small girls. "Do they know what's happening at all?" She asked.

"I explained it as best as I could," Lily said, as they reached Li Na's room. "Thank you."

"Call me if you need anything," Julie said. "There's a button above the bed."

Lily was suddenly beginning to feel very nervous. They entered the room and she placed Courtney down on the floor so that she was standing next to her sister. Upon seeing her mum, Saffron raced over to the bed squealing happily, unable to recognise that her mum was actually quite unwell. Courtney stood with her thumb in her mouth, the flowers under one arm. She remained at Lily's side, standing as close to her as possible.

"Lily," Li Na spoke in a small voice.

Lily sniffed and took Courtney's hand, slowly wandering across to the bed. Saffron had managed to climb onto the bed and was sat cross legged at the end, but their mother didn't seem to mind.

"Courtney," Lily whispered and knelt beside her little sister. "Do you want to give the flowers to mum?"

Courtney nodded and gently placed the bouquet on top of the duvet.

"They're beautiful," Li Na complimented and reached out to ruffle Courtney's hair. "Thank you, darling."

"Mummy has no hair," Saffron piped up, pointing a finger in case Lily hadn't noticed.

"Ssshh, Saffron," Lily quietened her.

"It's okay," Li Na said, a small sigh escaping her lips. "I'm so glad you brought them to come and see me, Lily. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, Mum," Lily said, not wanting her to worry. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," she said. "Thank you for looking after them. I know that you will do a grand job."

Lily sniffed and a small tear rolled down one side of her face. "I don't know if I can continue looking after them though," Lily said. "My place is too small, I have my job..."

"You don't need to worry about that just yet," she said.

"Mum, you're..." Lily glanced at her sisters and cleared her throat. "D-Y-I-N-G," she spelt out the word instead.

"Not just yet, I'm not," she said, giving Lily a small wink. "I still have a lot of fight left, believe me."

"Mummy, we drew you pictures," Courtney said, eventually finding her voice.

Courtney and Saffron both handed their mother the pictures that they'd drawn. Li Na examined each one carefully, talking to the girls and getting them to tell her what was going on in each one.

Lily smiled and wiped at her eyes, admiring the fact that her mum was being so strong and brave.

If she could go through all of that by herself, then surely Lily could look after the girls by herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ltfl: We will soon see how that turns out :-)**

Chapter Six

Lily woke up early the next morning to crying.

She was so tired that it took her a moment to realise where it was coming from. At first she thought that it was the baby in the flat downstairs, then her mind drifted to the house across the road, then eventually she realised that it was one of her sisters.

She yawned and rubbed at her weary eyes, grabbing her glasses so that she was able to see properly. The crying continued and as she climbed out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown, Courtney walked in.

"Courtney, is everything okay?" She asked the small girl gently.

"Saffron's been sick," Courtney told her sister.

"Right," Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll come and see to her. Are you okay to wait a little while longer for breakfast?"

"Yes," Courtney replied. "Can I watch TV?"

"Of course you can," Lily said, walking over and placing a hand on her back. "Be good, okay?"

Courtney nodded and hurried off to the living room, whilst Lily made her way into the girls bedroom. Saffron was sat up in bed crying, sick everywhere. Lily groaned and shook her head when she saw the sight; even though she dealt with vomiting patients on a day to day basis, she still wasn't keen on it.

"Come here, princess," Lily whispered, walking through a clean patch of the carpet. "What's brought this on, huh? Don't worry, Lily will clean it up for you."

"Sick!" Saffron cried.

"I know," Lily said sympathetically and lifted the girl into her arms. "How about you snuggle up in my bed? You can bring your blanket and teddy bear with you, and I'll get you some juice."

"In a box," Saffron squealed, immediately perking up. "Not a bottle."

"Of course," Lily laughed and kissed her head. "In a box."

She carried Saffron into her bedroom and tucked her in. She quickly grabbed Saffron's teddy and blanket from her room and then left her playing quietly with her bear whilst she went to get her a box of apple juice from the kitchen.

She felt so rushed off of her feet that she almost forgot about Courtney. She was fine though and seemed to be watching an episode of Sam and Cat on Nickelodean.

"Here you go, angel," Lily said, walking back into her room and handing the drink to Saffron.

Saffron snatched the box at once, beaming happily. Lily smiled back at her and picked up her phone to see if she'd received any messages at all, there was two missed calls from work. Saffron coughed, holding out the box to Lily. Lily nodded, placing the box on the bedside table, her eyes fixated on her phone screen.

"I just need to make a quick call, Saffron," Lily said, drifting to the other side of her room so that she could ring the ED back.

By this time Saffron had become tired again and was now laying down, and Lily suddenly remembered that she hadn't cleaned up the mess yet.

"Courtney!" She yelled, as she waited for someone to answer the phone. "Don't go in your bedroom, okay?"

"Kay!" Courtney yelled back, clearly distracted by her television programme.

Lily sighed heavily and smiled across at her sleeping sister, as Connie suddenly's voice was eventually heard on the other end of the phone.

"Mrs Beauchamp, it's Doctor Chao," Lily said professionally, shutting the door so that Connie wasn't able to hear Courtney from the other room. "I'm sorry that I missed your call. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, Lily," Connie sighed, clearly unimpressed by something. "Are you able to come into work today?"

Lily suspected that she might get asked that. How was she supposed to though? Saffron was ill in bed and she had no one to look after her or Courtney. Then again, she couldn't turn down the opportunity to work overtime.

"Um...I...I'm not sure if I can," Lily stuttered, holding a hand to her head. "Do you need me that much, Mrs Beauchamp?"

Connie cleared her throat and sighed heavily before answering, "I'm afraid we do. We're incredibly short staffed." She paused and then added, "even if you can just work for a couple of hours."

"Um..." Lily chewed on her lip and looked towards her sleeping sister. "I may be able to do a couple of hours, Mrs Beauchamp. I won't be able to stay on though I'm afraid."

"Okay." She could tell by the tone of her voice that Connie didn't seem happy. "Two hours, that's fine. Try and get here as soon as possible though Doctor Chao, I can't afford to be waiting around for our staff to pull their finger out."

"I'm already up and dressed," Lily lied. "I'll see you shortly."

She hung up the phone and suddenly felt sick. She wasn't sure if that was nerves or whether she'd caught the bug that Saffron seemed to have. She sat down on the edge of her bed and called out to Courtney, who immediately came running.

"Is Saffron poorly?" She asked.

"Yes, she is," Lily replied. "Look, I'm going to have to go to work for a couple of hours."

"Why?" Courtney whined, pulling a sad face. "You said that we'd spend today together."

"I know," Lily whispered. "But it will only be for two hours, I promise. I'm going to need you and Saffron to stay here for me though. I'll make you some sandwiches and get out some crisps and fruit, you can watch whatever you want on TV, and I'll make sure to clean up your bedroom before I go."

"But who's going to look after us?" Courtney asked. "What if Saffron's sick again?"

"She won't be," Lily said, gently stroking Courtney's hair. "She's sleeping at the moment, and you're going to have to stay by yourselves."

"But that's against the law," Courtney said, shocking Lily completely. "We had a stand in teacher once and she told us all about the rules and the law, and leaving children alone is a bad thing. You could go to prison."

"I'm not going to go to prison," Lily reassured her sister, and gave her a hug. "You'll be okay. Just stay inside, don't answer the door to anyone, and don't help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I'll prepare something and lay it out in the living room for you."

Courtney nodded, just as Saffron rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes.

"Lily?" She whined.

"Lily's going to have to go out for a little while," she whispered. "I won't be long. I promise. Wait here, okay? I'll just go and clean up the mess in your room and then I'll make you something to eat."

Lily knew that she shouldn't leave them on their own, especially because of how old they were. It would only be for a couple of hours though, Saffron would probably the majority of that time in bed, and Courtney acted way older than any other kid her age.

She knew, well she hoped, that they would be fine.

* * *

"Thanks for coming in, Doctor Chao," Connie said, as she and Lily strolled down the corridor towards resus. "I appreciate that I asked you last minute, but now you realise that you were actually needed." Lily faintly nodded, and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you okay?"

Connie had noticed that Lily didn't exactly seem like her normal self and she was clearly not going to tell her that something was wrong.

"You sure?" Connie asked. "Because right now, you are not giving me that impression. Look, if coming into work was such a big deal then..."

"It wasn't," Lily interrupted her. "Really Mrs Beauchamp, I'm glad that I helped and I'm sorry that I can't stay and work the full day."

"Is there anything that I can help with?" Connie questioned her.

"No." Lily shook her head. "Everything's fine, just...Family stuff."

So it wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Okay," Connie whispered. "Well, I'll let you go then. Thank you for coming in, Doctor Chao. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lily couldn't wait to get home. She felt awful leaving two small girls by themselves for two hours and she prayed that they were okay. As soon as she reached her flat, she unlocked the door and called out to them.

They were sat on the sofa in the living room, watching the Disney Channel. Half of the food had been eaten and Saffron looked a lot healthier.

"Lily!" Courtney squealed, beaming happily and running to hug her. "I told Saffron that you would be home soon, and you are."

"I am indeed." Lily crouched down and gave her a kiss. "Were you two okay?"

"We were fine," Courtney said. "No one came to the door and Saffron hasn't been sick again."

"Good," Lily said, holding out her other arm so that Saffron could come over for a hug. "I love you both. How about we get the farm toys out this afternoon? We can have a good old play and later on we can watch some Disney films."

"Yay!" Saffron and Courtney both cheered in unison, jumping up and down.

"Well, it's good to see that you're feeling better," Lily laughed, and tickled Saffron's stomach. "I love you both so much. I won't leave you alone again, okay? I promise, I'll make sure of it."

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Lekyla19Casualty: Thank you :-)**

 **Ltfl: She does and there will be loads more family stuff to come.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much. I'd love to be published one day so hearing that makes me smile. Lily and Iain are my favourite couple, and Lily has always been my favourite character. I do quite like Ethan and Alicia though and I am planning a story about those two couples which I hope to post soon. Do you have an account? I could always PM you when it's up, if not keep a look out for it :-)**

Chapter Seven

Lily was sat on the floor of the living room, surrounded by tonnes of plastic horses, sheep, and cows. Courtney was in the middle of fixing a fence for the sheep, making sure to add in trees and water and anything to make it look pretty and realistic. Saffron was playing with her favourite horse, making it gallop and neigh.

"What are you going to make next then, Courtney?" Lily asked her.

"A barn for the animals to go into when it's cold and wet," Courtney replied. "We don't want them to get a cold."

"No we don't," Lily whispered and ruffled her hair. "Good girl."

Lily sighed and glanced down at her watch to see that it was three o'clock. Some of her colleagues would be finishing work now, after working a full day, and she half wished that she'd been able to work a full day as well. It had been a nice afternoon though, playing with Saffron and Courtney.

There was then a knock at the door. She frowned, wondering who on earth it could have been. They needed a code to get in downstairs and no one had pressed the buzzer for her flat at all.

"Stay here and play quietly, girls," she whispered and left, shutting the living room door behind her.

She took a deep breath and slowly unlocked the front door, opening it slightly to see Iain standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned, popping only her head out. "How did you even get in?"

"Someone let me in downstairs," Iain said. "They were just heading out and when I said I was here to see you, they let me in."

"They shouldn't have done that," Lily muttered. "Security reasons."

"Well I'm here now," Iain sighed. "And it's not like I'm here to kill you or anything. Can I come in?"

"No." Lily shook her head, keeping the door slightly ajar so that Iain wouldn't be able to hear the sound of her sisters. "Sorry. I...I have a lot of work to finish tonight."

"Seems to be a regular occurance for you," he sighed, hands on his hips. "But I thought you told Mrs Beauchamp that you had family stuff, hence why you couldn't work more hours today."

"I did," Lily said, gulping nervously. "But that's finished now. I um...I'm just getting on with some work bits, to make up for today." She sighed and asked, "why are you here, Iain?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend, maybe?" Iain chuckled, and Lily couldn't work out whether he was genuinly laughing or whether he was annoyed with her. After all, he had goo reason to be. "Because I want to see my girlfriend. We've not seen much of each other at all lately, Lily. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Lily whined. "Now just isn't the right time, Iain. I'm sorry, but...How about after work tomorrow? Dinner?"

"Sure," Iain sighed. "I guess if you're free then, that's fine."

"I will be," Lily said. "I'll make sure that I am."

Iain frowned at her and asked, "you'll make sure that you are? It's tomorrow evening Lily, you're either free or you're not."

"Sorry," Lily sighed. She seemed to be making a whole mess of this. "I'm free, we can go straight from work."

"Okay." Iain faintly nodded at her and said, "I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah? Come here." He leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Love you," he said, playfully tickling her under the chin before leaving.

Lily sighed to herself, immediately feeling bad, and watched him head down the stairs before going back into her flat. She sniffed, locked up, and headed back to her sisters who were still playing quietly with each other.

"Who was that, Lily?" Courtney asked her.

"It was just someone from work," Lily said and sat back down on the floor between them both. "Iain."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Courtney smiled at her.

Lily smiled back at her lovingly and said, "yes, he is actually."

"Saffron has a boyfriend," Courtney said. "They always play together at school."

"Is that right, eh?" Lily asked and turned to address Saffron, playfully nudging her arm. "You do keep quiet about things, don't you?"

"Tommy," Saffron just said randomly, in a quiet voice.

"That's his name," Courtney said. "He's really nice. Saffron got hurt at school once and he looked after her."

"Lily," Saffron whispered.

Her lower lip wobbled and she dropped the horse that she was holding. She held her hands to her face and started rubbing at her eyes, suddenly beginning to cry. Panic filled Lily and she immediately moved to the young girl's side to try and see what could have upset her.

"Feel sick again," Saffron cried, as Lily pulled her onto her lap. "No," she whined, firmly shaking her head. "No hug."

"Sweetheart, I just want to look after you," Lily whispered. "You feel sick again? Shall we put you to bed?"

Saffron just cried as she sat on Lily's lap, a hand held to her chest. She coughed and Lily noticed that her breathing had become quite heavy. Lily slowly began to rock her back and forth to try and calm her. It wasn't fair on her at all, Saffron didn't handle change well and everything was so up in the air. The problem was that Saffron couldn't exactly tell her what was wrong either; she could talk really well and Lily had heard her, she was just a very shy and nervous child.

Aunty Bo had told her that Saffron's autism was only very mild, but she still needed help and support.

"Come on," Lily whispered and kissed her cheek. "I'll tuck you up in my bed again."

"I'll come too," Courtney said, as Lily lifted Saffron into her arms. "Could you read to us, Lily? Mummy always used to read to us when we were poorly."

"Okay," Lily agreed, settling Saffron down in her bed with her favourite teddy and blanket. "Go and choose one of your favourite books, and I'll read to you both."

Courtney nodded and hurried out to go and choose a book for Lily to read to them. Lily lay beside Saffron and stroked at her hair comfortingly, placing a hand to her forehead. She did feel rather warm.

"You okay, gorgeous?" She whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Not well, huh?"

Saffron whimpered and sniffed, holding her blanket to her face. Lily had heard women say that seeing their children so ill was the worse thing in the world, and she'd never really thought much about it until now. It was awful, seeing Saffron so upset, and she wished that she could do something to magically make her better again.

"I chose Mr Men!" Courtney squealed, trotting back into the room with one of the Mr Men books in her hands.

Courtney climbed up and snuggled down under the covers between her sisters. Lily waited until both girls were settled and comfortable and then she started to read. She'd never read Mr Men before, not even when she was Courtney's age and she had to admit that she actually quite enjoyed it. She could have easily read another one but Courtney and Saffron had both fallen asleep by the end of the story, and there were a few things that she needed to do.

"Love you both," she whispered, tucking them in and giving them each a kiss.

It was still early and she was starting to worry that they wouldn't sleep during the night, but she daredn't wake them. They looked so sweet and peaceful and it had been a difficult couple of weeks.

Lily left the bedroom door ajar in case they needed anything and quietly left the flat to go and sort something out. There was an older woman who lived in the flat opposite and whilst they weren't the best of friends, they still talked sometimes. Lily locked up her own flat and went to knock on the door, praying that she was in.

"Lily." She looked quite surprised when she answered. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi Kiera," Lily greeted her. "Sorry to just drop by like this. I was wondering if you could do me a favour, I um...I have my sisters staying with me for a little while and I've been asked to work late tomorrow."

She crossed her fingers behind her back, knowing how bad it was to lie.

"I can't get out of it," Lily whispered. "Would you be able to babysit for a few hours? I'll pay you, I don't mind."

"Can your mum not do it?" She asked.

"She's gone away for a week," Lily lied again, more and more just pouring out of her mouth. "That's why they're staying with me for a bit. Please, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate. I was just wondering if you could pick them up from school and bring them back here."

"Just for tomorrow night?" She asked, and Lily nodded. "Okay, I'll help out."

"Thank you," Lily said, tears pricking her eyes. "That means a lot. Courtney is allergic to nuts just so you're aware, and Saffron has very mild autism. There good kids though. I'll give you a password as well that the school will ask you for, just so they know you're not trying to kidnap them. I will let them know in the morning though."

"Lily, relax," she laughed. "It's fine, I'm happy to help. I hope work goes okay for you."

"Thank you." Lily went to leave when she suddenly thought of something. "Also, can you not mention mum to the girls at all? They're quite upset that she's gone away, and Saffron doesn't like change."

"Right." Kiera frowned but nodded in agreement. "Sure. I won't talk about your mum."

"Thank you," Lily said.

She uncrossed her fingers and headed back to her own flat, thankful that someone was able to look after Saffron and Courtney whilst she saw Iain. Still, she'd noticed the suspicion in Kiera's eyes and just hoped that she didn't suspect anything.

 **Thanks to everyone who's been reading the story. There will be a few Lily and Iain scenes in the next chapter :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Guest: Thank you and that's a pretty good idea actually, something that would be interesting to explore :-)**

Chapter Eight

Lily was pleased to see that Saffron was feeling better the next day. It was the usual mad rush of trying to get the girls ready before dropping them off early for breakfast club, and Lily was secretly looking forward to a nice, quiet date with her boyfriend. She felt as if she needed some time to herself, some time to relax and unwind.

"Now Kiera is going to pick you up from school," Lily said, as they made their way to the local primary school in the rain. "And she's going to take you back to her flat for a little while. I'll come and pick you up later."

Courtney frowned and asked, "who's Kiera?"

"You know who Kiera is," Lily said, bending down to straighten her school skirt. "She's the kind lady who lives opposite me. You've seen her before, when you've come to visit."

"Are you leaving us with a stranger?" Courtney asked. "We don't know her that well, do we?"

"It's only for a couple of hours," Lily reassured her. "And Kiera is lovely, you'll have fun I promise." Courtney just nodded, glancing across at Saffron who was holding Lily's hand. "Just one thing, I don't want any of you to mention mum to her okay?"

"Why not?" Courtney asked.

"Because Kiera doesn't need to know what's going on," Lily said. "It might upset her and you wouldn't want to upset her, would you? Just don't say anything about mum. Do you understand Saffron?"

Saffron nodded but avoided eye contact, and Lily hoped that she did understand.

"So you want us to lie?" Courtney asked.

"Not lie exactly," Lily said. "Just don't say anything. That's different."

"But what if Kiera asks about her?" Courtney asked.

"She won't," Lily hissed, trying not to lose her patience. "I promise. Just, please, don't say anything." Courtney looked quite taken aback and gave her sister a promising nod. "Have a good day at school. I'm just going to come in and let your teachers know that Kiera will be collecting you."

"Have we made you angry?" Saffron whispered, also sensing the tone in Lily's voice.

"No sweetheart," Lily whispered back, pulling her in for a hug. "You could never make me angry. Come here, are you feeling better?"

"My chest feels all funny," Saffron whimpered.

"You'll be okay," Lily comforted her, giving both of her arms a gentle rub. "Just think happy thoughts, okay? You can think of me if you want, then I'll give you a proper big kiss when I see you later."

Saffron giggled. "Can I think of puppies?" She asked. "Little tiny ones!"

"Sure." Lily smiled at her lovingly. "Of course you can."

* * *

Lily's chat with the teachers had gone on longer than expected, and Saffron had had a small meltdown on the way into the classroom. She'd eventually calmed down when the teacher brought out the paints but Lily had hated leaving her, and although it had only been by five minutes, she'd turned up late for work again.

Connie had not been happy.

It had just gone half past eleven and Lily exited resus with a solemn look on her face. She checked her phone briefly but there were no missed calls from the school. She hoped that Saffron was okay, she seemed perfectly happy when she'd left but she was still concerned. She had to mentally kick herself for getting someone to babysit whilst she went off with her boyfriend, and part of her even thought about cancelling her plans with Iain.

She couldn't do that. She'd already blown him off on more than one occasion and Iain was looking forward to seeing her outside of work.

She sighed heavily to herself and made her way over to the shop, where Gem was munching on a biscuit whilst flicking through a magazine.

"Have you not got customers to serve?" Lily asked her.

"I do now," Gem said with a mouthful. "The usual?"

"Please." Lily nodded at her.

"I hear you're going on a date with my brother tonight," Gem said. "I'm pleased."

"You are?" Lily frowned, placing some money in front of Gem.

"Yeah, course," Gem said. "I was scared you were going to dump him, you hadn't been on many dates lately."

"I wouldn't do that," Lily told her. "I love your brother and he's a great guy. I've just been tired, overworked, and not been seeing many people at all to be honest."

Gem nodded, grinning from ear to ear, as she finished off her biscuit and continued to make Lily a coffee.

"Lily!"

Lily spun at the sound of Iain's voice and spotted him storming towards her.

"A word," he ordered.

"Can't it wait?" Lily asked him nervously. "I'm working."

"No you're not, you're getting coffee," Iain pointed out, gesturing to his sister. "Outside please."

"Want one, bro?" Gem offered, sensing the tension between Lily and her brother.

"No, you're alright," Iain said and turned back to address his girlfriend. "Lily? It'll only take two seconds."

"Fine," she sighed, taking her coffee from Gem. "Thanks Gem, get back to work," she said, and gestured for Iain to follow her outside. "I can't be long. I'm already in Mrs Beauchamp's bad books."

"You know what her motto is," Iain said, as they made their way outside. "There's no excuse for lateness."

"I guess." Lily shrugged her shoulders and had a sip of her coffee. "What did you want to talk to me about anyway?"

"Are we still on for tonight?" Iain asked her.

"Yes." Lily nodded at him and forced a smile. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well you were late this morning, and you haven't been yourself all day," he pointed out. "I just worry about you, Chuckles."

"You don't need to worry, Iain," Lily said. "You know what I'm like, I'm just annoyed at myself for disappointing Mrs Beauchamp."

"You've just been late an awful lot recently," Iain said. "You're not doing too much again, are you?"

"I'm okay," Lily reassured him, anxiously rubbing at the back of her neck. "Look, I...I need to get back to work. Are we done here?"

"You see, this is what I'm talking about," Iain sighed, walking over and wrapping his arm around her. "Maybe we shouldn't go out tonight, not if you're not up for it."

"I am up for it," Lily said. "Iain, please don't be like this. I want to see you tonight, okay? More than anything."

"I just want you to have a good time," Iain whispered in her ear.

"And I will." Lily smiled lovingly at him. "As soon as work is out of the way, I'll be fine. You're right, I...I'm doing too much and I've just been talking to Gem about tired I've been feeling. A night out with you is probably what I need right now."

Iain chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. "I'm pleased to hear you say that," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck.

Lily clutched her coffee in her hands and rested her head against his chest, breathing in his scent.

"I'll get a table booked for us, okay?" He said. stroking at her hair.

"No." Lily shook her head. "I'll do it. It's the least I can do, seeing as I've been such a rubbish girlfriend."

"You haven't," Iain said, resting his forehead against hers. "I guess we all have our bad days, eh?"

Lily nodded, beaming from ear to ear and letting him kiss her again. She kissed him back and said with a smile, "I'll go and book us that table."

 **I enjoyed writing this chapter. To be honest, I enjoy writing all scenes between Iain and Lily as they are just such an adorable couple. I need to update a few things before the episode tomorrow. It's totally Lily centric so I'm excited but incredibly nervous.**

 **Also Crystal tweeted me today so I'm super happy about that :D x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ltfl: We'll soon see :-)**

Chapter Nine

The atmosphere was silent and awkward.

Iain and Lily were sat opposite each other at a table, in the middle of eating their food. Lily had gone for the lasagna whilst Iain had steak and chips. Lily had said that she'd be fine after work and that she would enjoy the date, but he could tell that she still wasn't her usual self.

"Is the lasagna nice?" He asked.

"Yeah, it is," Lily whispered, subtly checking her phone under the table.

No messages.

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Iain asked her.

"No." Lily shook her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm okay. I um...I just thought I heard it ringing, that's all."

"I didn't hear anything," he said, frowning at her. "Hey, they do the best homemade cakes here," he said. "I'll treat you for one afterwards if you'd like."

"Cake?" Lily raised her eyebrows and fidgeted awkwardly in her seat. "I thought we were just going to have a main meal."

"Lily," he scoffed. "We're on a date here, we can have whatever we want. I want dessert and you're welcome to join me if you want to." He sighed and picked a chip up off of his plate to eat.

"I'll think about it," she whispered.

"Look," he sighed. "Maybe you should speak to Mrs Beauchamp, yeah? It's obvious that you're doing too many hours and it's obvious that you're exhausted. Speak to her, give yourself a break."

"It wouldn't make much difference," Lily whispered and forced a smile. "Let's not talk about work, huh? Come on. Um...You look great today."

"Yeah." Iain smiled, pleased to see that Lily was at least trying. "You look great too. I um...I know that we haven't been seeing each other that long Lily, but I'm really pleased to call you my girlfriend and I'm really pleased that I finally found the courage to ask you out."

"Yeah." Lily nodded at him, feeling herself blush a bright shade of red. "I'm glad that you did too."

"Come here," Iain said and he leaned across the table to kiss her passionately on the lips.

* * *

Lily had stayed for dessert. She loved spending time with her boyfriend and he'd made her feel so loved, she couldn't possibly leave early. She was pleased to get back to the flats though, she made Iain drop her off outside so that she could head straight to Kiera's door to pick up Saffron and Courtney.

"Ah, Lily," Kiera sighed, opening the door for her. "Come on in."

"Have they been okay?" Lily asked, stepping inside

"We need to talk about that," Kiera said, walking Lily through to the living room.

Both girls looked extremely excited to see their sister. They leapt up from the floor and ran to hug her, Courtney giggling the loudest and beginning to tell her all about her day at school.

"I missed you too," Lily said, hugging them both before turning to address Kiera. "What do you mean? Talk about what?"

"Saffron's teacher wants you to go in and have a chat with her in the morning," she said. "She's been struggling to stay in the classroom quite a lot lately."

"But she was doing fine," Lily said. "I can't schedule a meeting with her teacher, I have work."

"Have you ever thought that all this change could be the thing that's affecting her?" Kiera asked. "She doesn't know me that well, your mum's on holiday. Children with autism find it hard to adapt to change."

"I'm well aware that change affects my sister," Lily snapped, standing up straight. "I don't need you to tell me that."

"Well this is something that you can't get out of," Kiera said, shrugging her shoulders. "She really wants to talk to you and she asked me to pass on the message."

"Well what am I going to do about work?" Lily asked, running a hand through her hair. "My boss is expecting me."

"Can't you just explain the situation to her?" Kiera asked.

Lily sighed and nodded, glancing across at her sisters. "I'll think of something," she said. "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't need to pay me," Kiera said. "It was no trouble at all, honestly."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"I'm sure," Kiera said. "Just take the girls home and get them to bed."

"Thanks again," Lily said. "Come on girls, let's go home."

She helped collect up their book bags and lunch boxes and said another goodbye to Kiera, before taking them out and back to her own flat. They were both exhausted and she couldn't blame them really, she probably should have given Kiera a key and suggested she take them back to hers instead so that they could have at least gone to bed.

She prayed that they'd be okay for school in the morning.

"Did you have fun with Kiera?" She asked them.

"She's really nice," Courtney said, as Lily helped them into their pyjamas. "Saffron liked her too."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lily said. "It won't happen again though, right? Me, leaving you with a babysitter."

Courtney nodded and climbed into bed and under the covers. Saffron had already fallen asleep in the bed beside her, still dressed in her school uniform. Lily leaned down and kissed Courtney's forehead before making her way over to her other sister.

"Come on gorgeous," Lily whispered, gently sitting her up so that she could slip her into her pyjamas. "Ssshh, good girl," she soothed, as Saffron's eyes remained shut.

She finished off dressing Saffron and tucked her in, whilst stroking her hair and kissing her cheek. She smiled to herself, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and checked the new message that she'd just received from Iain.

 _Coffee tomorrow. I think we need to talk xx_

 **Did you see the episode tonight guys? I am still shaking, haha. It was a good episode though and I quite fancy writing another Fanfic based on it but I have no ideas at the moment x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Lucy: Thank you so much! Me too, I was shaking throughout the whole episode.**

 **Dancingwithmyshadow6: That's okay. Aww, thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.**

 **Bethany: That's a good idea, thanks. I'll write that later on in the story :-)**

 **Ltfl: It was! I was on the edge of my seat. She does, let's hope it happens soon.**

 **MrsWhovian: She will, hopefully she'll tell someone soon :-)**

Chapter Ten

Lily sat in her chair, legs and arms crossed, a frown on her face. She was quite aware that time was getting on and that she should have been at work a whole hour ago. Sure she'd sent a text to Connie letting her know that she'd be late, but she still wasn't going to be happy. She hadn't even replied to Lily's text, that was saying something right?

"Saffron is a lovely girl," Mrs White said to Lily. "She's very bright and very polite, but she does have trouble interacting with her classmates and finds it difficult to make friends."

"So?" Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't have any friends when I was at school. It isn't the end of the world."

"No," Mrs White said, sighing heavily to herself. "But she struggles to stay in the classroom. There has been numerous times where she's ran out and someone has had to go after her. It's just disrupting the rest of the class."

"I can talk to her," Lily offered.

"That's it?" Mrs White looked quite taken aback. "You're not even going to say sorry about this?"

"Why do I need to apologise?" Lily asked. "I'm not the one running out of class. I'll talk to her, okay? She can't help it though, can she?"

"No, and like I said she is a lovely girl," she said. "She's very special and we love having her at the school. We don't want to send her to a special needs school because..."

"Special school?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "I'm confused. Saffron isn't even that bad; yes she may struggle to stay in class but..."

"I know," Mrs White interrupted her. "We are working with her, but as her sister you need to try and work with her at home as well." She sighed before adding, "she never used to be this bad."

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Lily accused.

"I'm saying that it could be the home situation that's affecting her," she said. "Do you talk about your mum much?"

"Not much." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want to upset the girls."

"You should do," she said. "Talking won't upset them, but right now Saffron is probably just confused and upset by the change. She's probably wondering when her mum will be home."

Lily faintly nodded and whispered, "okay. Thank you for your time, Mrs White."

"I'll let you get off to work," she said. "But thank you very much for coming in. It's much appreciated."

Lily forced a smile and picked up her bag and coat before leaving the office. Part of her just wanted to go home and avoid getting into trouble, but she knew that the longer she left it then the worse it'll get. She arrived at work and quickly shoved her things into her locker, before having a sip of water.

She then exited the staffroom to see Iain and Jez bringing a patient in.

"Right, what have we got?" She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, snatching the notes from Jez.

"This is Warren Matthews," Iain informed her. "Seventeen, complaining of severe chest pain, and has been coughing up blood as well." Lily nodded and glanced down at the teenager who had his hands clasped around the bucket. "Are we still on for coffee?" Iain asked her.

"Of course," Lily replied. "Now Warren..."

"Are you two an item or something?" Warren coughed.

Iain stifled a laugh, whilst Lily just snapped, "that is absolutely none of your business."

"Doctor Chao!" Lily's heard dropped to the pit of her stomach as she heard Connie call to her, she hoped that she would be too busy to pick on her lateness. "I want a word with you in my office before you do anything, please. Now."

Lily sighed and nodded, handing the notes back to Jez before making her way towards Connie.

"Iain, grab Doctor Knight and see if he can treat," Connie said, holding the door open for Lily. "In you go," she whispered. "I got your message," she said, pulling out her mobile as she followed Lily into the office. "Sorry, I'm going to be late," she read out loud. "That's it. No explanation."

"I thought that it'd be best to explain myself in person," Lily said.

"Go on then," Connie sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm waiting."

Lily hung her head and whispered, "I...I overslept."

Lily didn't even know where those words had come from. She thought that she was able to tell Connie the truth, but maybe she was wrong.

Again?" Connie shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? You are supposed to be one of my most promising doctors Lily, and you're turning up late and refusing to work overtime."

"I don't have to work overtime," Lily pointed out.

"But you used to always agree to it, didn't you?" Connie said. "I'm not just angry Lily, I...I'm concerned. You're slacking and I can't have that; especially with appraisals and hospital inspections coming up as well."

Lily kept her head hung.

"And for goodness sake, could you please look at me when I'm speaking to you?" She snapped, but Lily didn't move. "Doctor Chao!"

Lily slowly lifted her head and Connie shook her head, lips pursed.

"You are on thin ice right now," she hissed. "You know how important it is to be at work on time, and you know that there will be times where you are asked to work overtime. If lateness is going to become a current problem, then I think you and I need to sit down and have a proper chat about it."

"It's not," Lily said quietly, close to bursting into tears. "It really isn't, Mrs Beauchamp."

Connie sighed, not knowing whether to continue or not. She didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Can...Can I please go back to work now?" Lily asked. "I just want to get on with my job."

Connie glared at her and reluctantly nodded. She couldn't think of anything else to say to Lily. Lily just thanked her in a small voice and walked out, trying her best to hold back her tears.

* * *

Lily's third meeting of the day was with Iain, someone who was supposed to be her boyfriend, but for some reason was feeling incredibly annoyed with her. They met in the cafeteria of the ED, over a coffee.

"So, how's your day been?" Iain asked, slowly easing into the conversation.

"Not great," Lily muttered, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry. It's been a pretty bad day. What about you?"

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "It's been okay. Gem's been acting up though and Jez has been his usual childish self, I feel like I should be a babysitter instead of a paramedic."

Lily laughed and gave him a smile. "Gem's lucky to have a big brother like you," she said. "I mean that." Iain said nothing. "What did you want to talk to me about, Iain? Should I be worried?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I just...I don't know if this is going to work between us, Lily."

"I...I thought you were happy," she said.

"I am, I...I think you're amazing," he said. "But lately, it's felt as if you don't want to be anywhere near me. It takes two to work a relationship, right? I feel like I'm putting in all the work here."

"I'll try harder, Iain," Lily said. "But...We see each other at work, don't we?"

"That isn't really the same, is it?" Iain scoffed. "I thought we could tell each other everything, but I feel as if you're keeping something from me."

Lily took a deep breath and fidgeted awkwardly in her chair. She picked up her coffee and had a quick sip, almost burning her tongue in the process.

"I...I don't want us to break up though," Lily whispered, slowly setting her coffee back down. "I really like you, Iain."

"Well," he sighed. "I like you too." He smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I...I'll give you another chance, yeah? I understand that you are tired and that I'm probably not making your bad day any better here."

"Thank you," Lily said. "I'll make it up to you, okay? Maybe we could go somewhere this week, catch a movie or something?"

"That sounds good," Iain said. "Let me know what you want to see, yeah?"

"I will," Lily said. "I'm going to get back to work now, okay?"

"Sure," Iain said. "Will you be okay? Take care of yourself, okay?" Lily nodded, standing up from her chair. "I hope your shift gets better," he said, standing up and leaning over to kiss her. "Alright?" He asked and she nodded, before leaving the cafeteria.

She wiped away a small tear and pulled her mobile out of her pocket to see that she'd received a missed call from the school.

"No," she whispered, leaning back against the wall.

She anxiously began to bite on her nails, and held the phone up to her ear.

 _"Lily, it's Mrs White. Again, many thanks for coming into see me this morning. However, there's been a small incident at school this morning and we need you to come and collect Saffron..."_

Lily didn't even wait for the voicemail to finish. She stopped it and removed the phone from her ear, slowly. She was about to leave, trying to think of what to do, when Robyn walked over.

"Are you okay, Lily?" She asked.

"Um..." Lily gulped and glanced across at Iain who remained in his seat whilst he finished his coffee. "I...I don't know."

"You don't look too good," Robyn said. "Maybe you should go home."

Lily couldn't. Connie was already cross, Iain was already worried, but at the end of the day her sister needed her.

"Actually, I...I don't feel very well," Lily said to Robyn. "I may have to."

"That's okay," Robyn said. "How about I let Mrs Beauchamp know for you, yeah? You just get yourself home and into bed."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, and the red-head nodded. "Okay. Thank you Robyn."

"No problem," Robyn said. "You just leave Mrs Beauchamp to me."

 **That chapter was a bit long, but it's all starting to kick off now meaning that Lily is one step closer to telling someone. I hope you enjoyed it. I would have updated a bit more this weekend but I had an all day drama rehearsal today so I'm shattered, haha :-) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Lekyla19Casualty:** **I love a bit of drama.** **Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

 **Sallyxo: Thank you. I've sent you a message.**

 **Ltfl: Exactly, hopefully she'll let someone know soon.**

Chapter Eleven

"Okay, we have a major RTC coming in," Connie announced, storming into reception.

She hadn't had the best of days. Firstly she'd had to have a stern talking with Lily, then she'd been swamped with paperwork that needed to be completed by the end of the week but people had kept interrupting her. She knew that as clinical lead, her staff were bound to ask her questions but if she had an admin day scheduled than she would rather have the peace.

"Doctor Hardy, I would like you and Doctor Chao in resus please," Connie said. "If you could please shadow them, Doctor Munroe. It could be a good thing for your portfolio."

"Sure," Alicia agreed happily, a smile on her face.

"Um..." Robyn shyly raised a hand and said, "Lily's gone home."

Connie looked up and glared at Robyn out of the corner of her eye. She slammed the papers that she was holding down onto the reception desk and folded her arms across her chest. Everyone fell silent. Connie looked close to erupting.

"What do you mean she's gone home?" She asked in a calm, quiet voice.

"She said that she wasn't feeling well," Robyn informed her. "I said that I'd let you know."

"Lily?" Iain frowned in confusion. "I met her for coffee. I needed to talk to her about some stuff and she seemed fine then."

"What sort of stuff did you talk to her about exactly?" Ethan asked protectively. "Lily's sensitive and if you upset her in any way, then..."

"I didn't," Iain interrupted defensively. "But she's been really off with me lately."

"Okay," Connie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I've already spoken to Lily once today and to be frank I don't think I could take another conversation with her. Leave her today, get on with your work, and we'll see if she turns up tomorrow."

"Shouldn't we at least ring her and check if she's okay?" Iain asked, now feeling quite concerned about his girlfriend.

"Leave her, Iain," Elle piped up. "She'll be fine, trust me. She could have been telling Robyn the truth, we don't know."

"I doubt that," Connie muttered under her breath, but she didn't push the matter any further.

* * *

Saffron was playing in her room, upset because Lily had just told her off for acting out at school. There had been a fight in the classroom apparently, something that Saffron had started because she wanted to use the red pencil when someone else had been using it. She'd started crying and had ended up on the verge of a panic attack. Honestly Lily thought how great being a kid must be, if the only worries you had were that little.

As Lily made lunch, she heard her mobile ringing and hoped that it wasn't someone from work. It was just her aunt.

"Aunty Bo," she answered. "What can I do for you?"

"Lily, I would like you to use your original language whilst speaking to your aunty," she said, but she was laughing. "I'm surprised with you."

"Sorry," Lily sighed, sitting down on the sofa. "Why are you ringing me anyway? Has something happened?"

"No, no," she said. "Not at all. I just had some free time and thought I'd check how things are with you and the girls. Are you at work?"

"Um...No, I...I had a day off today," Lily lied to her, gulping and shutting the kitchen door.

She couldn't have her aunt knowing that Saffron was at home and prayed that the young girl would keep quiet during the phone conversation.

"And the girls got dropped off at school okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, they've been fine," Lily whispered.

She kept the phone to her ear, listening as her aunt rambled on about life in China. She drifted across the kitchen and picked up the report that she'd been writing for Connie; there were scribbles all over the paper and she was still nowhere near finished. Sure Connie hadn't asked her to write it but she still needed to finish it and hand it in to her.

"Thanks for your call anyway, Aunty Bo," Lily sighed, sitting down at the table and wondering whether she had time to do a bit more on the report. "I'm going to have to go though."

"Is everything okay, Lily?" She asked. "You're not working on your day off, are you?"

"I have a bit to do, yes," she answered. "Don't worry about me, Aunty. Things are going okay."

"As long as you're taking care of yourself as well," she said.

"I am, trust me," Lily sighed. "I'll speak to you soon. Love you."

Aunty Bo said that she loved her back, drawing her close to tears. Lily hung up the phone and decided to go and check on Saffron before getting on with any work. She was sitting on the floor playing with her dolls, clearly happy in her own little world.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Lily asked, crouching down beside her. "Listen. I have to do some work, okay? Will you be alright in here?"

"No, you play too," Saffron said, handing a doll over to Lily.

"Saffron, I have work to do," Lily sighed. "And you should be at school anyway. Come on, I can't be constantly coming to pick you up early. I know it's hard and I understand that but you need to try for me."

"No," she answered, her eyes fixated on her toys.

"Well, could you try it for mummy?" Lily asked, and gently began to stroke her hair. "Saffron, you...You do know why I'm looking after you and Courtney don't you?" Saffron didn't answer and just carried on playing. "Saffron, look at me," she said, taking one of the dolls from her. "Please."

"That's mine," Saffron whined, and began to cry.

"I'm trying to talk to you," Lily said, holding the doll away from her. "Listen to me. You know that our mum is very sick, don't you?"

Saffron faintly nodded, seeming to understand.

"Well, that's why I'm looking after you both," Lily said, tears pricking her own eyes. "Do you miss her?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"It's okay to miss her," Lily said. "She's our mum and I'll understand if you feel upset. I...I don't like change either, but she wouldn't want you to be acting like this at school."

There was a pause.

"If we visit her again and she asks me about you and Courtney, how do you think she'd feel if I told her you were being naughty at school?" Saffron didn't answer. "I think she'd be upset. You don't want that, do you?"

Saffron said nothing.

"I know school can be hard," Lily said. "Especially if you find it hard to make friends. You need to try though, for me and for Aunty Bo and for mummy as well. I want to give her and Aunty good comments about you and Courtney."

Saffron giggled and picked up another one of her dolls.

"Fine," Lily sighed, giving her other doll back to her. "Come on, I'm making lunch. Come and eat with me and then you can carry on playing."

"Eat!" Saffron squealed and jumped up immediately, before rushing out and into the kitchen.

Lily sighed and quickly followed, remembering that she'd left a knife and a block of cheese out. She made sure that Saffron was seated at the table, poured some crisps onto her plate alongside the cheese sandwich and placed it in front of her.

"Now eat it all up," Lily said. "And you might be allowed some ice-cream afterwards."

She leaned down and kissed Saffron's head, before leaving to go and check the post. There was just the one letter, addressed to Lily, with "PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL" marked on the front. Lily frowned and began to open it up as she made her way back to her sister.

"Eat up please, Saffron," she said, realising that the sandwich had been left untouched.

She opened up the letter and scanned it over, her chest tightening at the words that she saw.

 _ARREARS!_

 _Dear Miss Chao,_

 _We are writing to you regarding a missed payment on your rent. The money is taken out of your bank account on the 28th of each month but unfortunately there did not seem to be enough in the account to cover this months payment._

 _Please notify us within fourteen days to make this payment. If we do not receive a response from you, we will have to take further action._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Finance Administrator_

"What?" Lily frowned to herself and stormed into the living room, oblivious to the fact that Saffron was only eating her crisps and not her sandwich.

She opened up her laptop, the letter in hand, and quickly logged onto her online banking. She was ashamed to admit that the letter had been correct, her bank account was almost empty because of food and various things that she'd bought for the girls including the school shoes and the build a bears. How could she have been so careless?

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered and just ran her hands down her tired face in frustration.

 **Okay so a lot happened in this chapter. Maybe I should have broke the scenes up into seperate chapters, I hope it was okay x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Dancingwithmyshadow6: Me too :-)**

 **Ltfl: Let's see what happens :-)**

Chapter Twelve

Iain had been tossing and turning all night, worrying constantly about his girlfriend. He'd wanted to go round to her flat to check if she was okay, but Connie and Elle were both adament that she needed some time alone to relax.

However, he had text Lily that morning asking if she wanted a lift to work. She'd been quick to decline.

When he arrived at the ED that morning he made his way to Connie's office and explained the situation.

"I've been discussing the matter with Charlie and Doctor Gardner," Connie told him. "I don't think we have anything to worry about, but you know what Lily is like. She's overworking herself, she's doing too much, and I think we ought to just tread lightly."

"Okay," Iain whispered. "I'll admit that I did have words with her yesterday, because she kept blowing me off and lying to me. I didn't think she cared."

"Relationships can be hard," Connie said. "Especially if you work together."

"But if she's tired then...I guess getting at her all the time isn't helping," Iain said. "I was thinking of taking her out somewhere, treating her to a day out."

"That sounds like a good plan," Connie said. "Just don't mention anything to her today, okay? We'll see how she is this week and if she turns up for work on time. I can't keep having the same conversation with her and believe me she has been on the verge of losing her job, but I'm prepared to listen to reason and try a different approach. I'll send an email round, asking the rest of the staff to do the same."

"And if this behaviour carries on?" Iain asked.

"Then," Connie sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "We're going to have to reconsider her position here at Holby."

* * *

"I promise that I will sort the payment out as soon as possible," Lily said, running a hand down her face.

She held her mobile to her ear, listening to the lecture that the man was giving her about missed payments. Luckily for her the staffroom was quiet but she was quite aware that her shift had already started, and that Connie probably wasn't overly happy with her either.

Pay day wasn't for a while yet and she wondered how on earth she was going to get the money. Her mum was bound to have some in her bank, right? Surely she wouldn't mind lending Lily a bit before she got paid. The only problem was that Lily didn't want to have to bother her mum for money, not when she was extremely ill in a hospice.

She really should have thought about the expenses of taking care of two children, and she was ashamed and embarrassed.

"Okay, thank you," she whispered and hung up the phone, just as Ethan walked into the room. "Ethan," she let out a sigh. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm okay," he answered. "Are you feeling better? Robyn told us that you weren't well yesterday."

"Yes, thank you," she replied, quickly folding up the arrears letter and stuffing it into her pocket so that Ethan couldn't see. "Um...Can I ask you a small favour?" She asked and he nodded, heading over to make himself a coffee. "Can I borrow some money?"

"What?" Ethan chuckled, raising his eyebrows in shock. "That is the last question I thought you would ask. Wh...Why?" He then stuttered.

"It's just been an expensive month," Lily said. "And there's something I need to do."

"And it can't wait until we get paid?" Ethan asked. "You're usually so careful Lily, that's unlike you." Lily didn't argue with that, she knew he was right. "Well I can't help if you don't tell me what's going on. I just don't feel comfortable lending you money, Lily."

"You're my best friend, Ethan," Lily whispered. "I'll pay you back, I promise."

"Why don't you ask Iain?" Ethan asked. "If you're that desperate, he is your boyfriend after all. If not, ask Mrs Beauchamp if she'll pay us earlier than usual although I doubt she will to be honest."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and decided not to push the matter further. She stood up and shoved her jacket and mobile phone into her locker, hoping that the school wouldn't try and get hold of her. She sniffed and hung her head, quietly shutting her locker.

"Hey," Ethan whispered, walking over to open up his own locker. He'd remembered the email that Connie had sent, but certainly wasn't going to mention it to Lily. "How much do you need?"

Lily tried to remember how much the letter had stated. It wasn't a huge amount, seeing as she'd just missed the one payment.

"Take it, yeah?" He said, fishing in his wallet and bringing out a few notes. "Take it and do what you have to do."

"Are you sure?" Lily whispered, and Ethan nodded at his friend. "You're the best. You won't tell Iain, will you?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Ethan said. "You seem happy with him. I understand that it's an embarrassing question to ask, and that you're scared it could ruin your relationship so, my lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Ethan," Lily said. "That's really kind of you. I'll pay you back, I promise."

"I know," Ethan whispered.

Ethan watched her, concerned, but before he could say anything else she left the staffroom in a hurry.

She grabbed some notes from Noel and began to flick through them, trying to ignore the fact that Connie had clearly spotted her and was on her way over. She was hoping for a bit of a better day at work so didn't want to be in any more trouble with her boss.

"Doctor Chao," Connie spoke, standing at her side. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Lily was shocked at Connie's attitude but nodded anyway and said, "fine. Thank you, Mrs Beauchamp."

"Good." Connie gave her a small smile and slowly took the notes from her. "How about I deal with the patient, hmm? Take a break."

"But I have everything under control," Lily told her.

"I know, you're doing well," Connie said, gently rubbing at her arm. "And well done for coming into work on time, okay? I didn't mean to shout, but you must understand how important timekeeping is."

"I do," Lily whispered. "Really, and I'm sorry."

"Right," Connie said. "Now I'll deal with this patient for you. Come on, pull your socks up and I'll talk to you before the end of your shift."

"What do you mean?" Lily frowned, as Connie went to walk away. "I'm wearing tights."

"Attitude, Doctor Chao," Connie warned with a sigh, before leaving for resus.

Lily was so confused at what Connie had said, and at the way she'd treated her. She decided to do what she'd suggested and gave herself a break, heading straight to the ambulance bay to speak to Iain. He actually looked quite pleased to see her.

"Hey, what gives me this pleasure?" He asked, walking over and wrapping his arms around her. "It's good to see you, Chuckles," he said, leaning down and kissing her on the nose. "How's your day been?"

"Weird," Lily answered. "That's the best way I can describe it."

"Weird?" He laughed, removing the hair from her face. "Weird how?"

"Mrs Beauchamp was just being nice," Lily said. "Too nice." And she rested her head against his chest.

"Come here, gorgeous," he sighed, sitting on the back of the ambulance with his arms around her waist. "I think she's just a little bit worried about you," he said, stroking at her hair and kissing her neck. "Wants us all to be gentle around you for a little while."

"Why?" She asked, as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Because you haven't been yourself lately," Iain said. "Are you tired?"

Lily nodded. That was true, she felt absolutely exhausted.

"Yeah," Iain sighed, lifting his head and entwining his fingers with hers. "We thought so. You should get an early night tonight." Lily just shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lily whispered, turning to face him. "I just love you so much, sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you."

"Hey, I love you too," Iain said, hugging her close to him. "Come on, you do deserve me. I love you more than anything, you do realise that right? You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Lily." Lily just nodded at him, wiping away her loose tears. "I'm serious. Hey..." He winked at her and smirked a little. "Why don't we skip work for a little while and go for a walk?"

"Mrs Beauchamp will be angry," Lily said. "I'm already in trouble."

"But you're on your break, aren't you?" Iain said. "Come on, Jez can handle things so let's go for a little walk together. It's nice out and I'll just tell Mrs Beauchamp that I'm looking out for you."

Lily nodded and said, "a walk does sound nice."

"Of course it does," Iain said, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Come on Chuckles, I'll even throw in a piggyback ride for on the way back."

 **So Lily had a bit of a better day at work then. I loved writing the Lily and Iain scene and also the Lily and Connie scene. So, someone will soon find out the truth but who? :-) x**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ltfl: Very soon :-)**

 **Dancingwithmyshadow6: Hehe, that will soon happen :-)**

Chapter Thirteen

Lily was pleased when the end of her shift arrived.

It had been a pretty good day overall as well. She'd been for a nice walk in the country with Iain during her break, everyone had been nice to her, and she now had the money to settle her rent arrears. She made a note to do that as soon as she possibly could.

As she was grabbing her things from her locker and getting herself ready to go and collect the girls from homework club, Connie walked in.

"Doctor Chao," she greeted. "How has your day been?"

"Good," Lily answered, slipping her jacket on. "Thank you, Mrs Beauchamp."

"Did you see Iain on your break?" She asked, and Lily nodded in response. "Good, good. I know he's been worrying about you, so...That's good to hear. Have a nice evening, okay? Get an early night and I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Of course, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily said.

"On time again, okay?" Connie said, winking at her teasingly before exiting the staffroom.

Lily smiled faintly to herself and shut her locker door before walking out. Saffron and Courtney were waiting outside when she arrived with a teacher and a few more kids who hadn't been picked up yet. One of the mums was there and Lily recognised her immediately; Her name was Lynne and she was the mother of Courtney's best friend, Anna. Lily had spoken to her a few times in the playground at pick up time.

"Lily, I'm glad I caught you," Lynne said, smiling as Courtney rushed to hug her sister.

Saffron was too busy playing on the hopscotch that had been drawn on the concrete.

"Is there a problem?" Lily asked, lifting Courtney into her arms.

"No, not at all," Lynne said. "I wanted to ask you if Courtney would like to come for a sleepover at our house on Friday. Anna has been bugging me for months and I realised the other day that I don't actually have your number. Saffron can come as well."

"Really?" Lily asked. "Are you sure? Two girls can be a handful and..."

"Nonsense, it's fine," Lynne said. "Anna's older cousin has autism, I have experience. Anna would love it though so if you don't mind..."

"Please, Lily," Courtney begged, clinging onto Lily and fluttering her eyelashes. "I would really love to go."

Lily sighed and looked to Lynne, before asking, "are you absolutely sure about having both of them?"

"Honestly," Lynne said. "It would be a pleasure. Gives you a break as well, right? You must be tired."

"Anna is more than welcome to come round ours," Lily said. "Any time." She looked down at Courtney and said, "so, you and Saffron are going for a sleepover at Anna's house on Friday night yeah?"

"Yes!" Courtney squealed.

"What do you say?" Lily asked.

"Thank you," Courtney laughed, burying her face in Lily's blouse.

As soon as Lily arrived home, she set the girls down in front of the TV and put the dinner on so that she could make a couple of phonecalls. The first one was sorting the arrears out now that she had the money. She'd deposited the money that Ethan had given her into the bank on the way to collect the girls so it was there waiting to be collected and taken. She knew that she needed to get the child benefit money re-directed to her though, and see if her mum had anything spare to help her out until pay day.

The second call was to Iain.

"Is everything okay?" Iain asked straight away, and it made Lily realise that she didn't actually phone him that often.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come round to my place on Friday night," Lily said.

"Well," Iain sighed heavily down the phone. "That's an offer that I can't refuse. What time?"

"Would six o'clock be okay?" Lily asked, guessing that Saffron and Courtney would go to Anna's straight from school. "We could order in, put on a movie and not watch the movie."

"Doctor Chao, you are naughty," Iain chuckled. "I never thought that you'd go ahead and say something like that."

"Are you free or not?" Lily laughed.

"I'm free," Iain said. "I can't wait."

* * *

It was two o'clock in the morning and Saffron and Courtney were fast asleep in their beds. Lily was still up, in the living room, working on the report that she'd been trying to complete for Connie. She was determined to get it done so that she could give it to her when she arrived at work.

She sighed and checked her mobile to see that Iain had sent her a 'goodnight' text at nine o'clock. She'd promised him and Connie that she would get an early night, but look at what happened there.

"Lily?"

She turned and saw Courtney standing in the doorway.

"Hey sweetheart," Lily whispered, being careful so that they wouldn't wake Saffron up. "What are you doing awake?"

"I had a bad dream," Courtney whispered, walking over to her sister. "What are you doing?"

"Work," Lily answered her, rolling her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Courtney asked. "Is it fun?"

"Not really," Lily repeated her sister, and stroked at her hair. "But it needs doing."

"Did your boss ask you to do that?" Courtney asked.

"No." Lily smiled, shaking her head. "I chose to do it."

"That was nice of you, wasn't it?" Courtney said, as Lily lifted her onto her lap. "When can we see mummy again?"

"Soon," Lily said, kissing her cheek. "We can go on Saturday if you want, after I pick you and Saffron up from Anna's house. Would you like that?" Courtney nodded and rested her head on Lily's shoulder. "She'll be okay, baby girl. Are you excited about your sleepover anyway?"

"Really excited," Courtney replied. "I've never had a sleepover before."

"You'll look after your sister, won't you?" Lily said, and tapped her on the nose. Courtney nodded. "Good girl. You are good with her."

"Can I stay up with you?" Courtney asked.

"Sorry, Courtney," Lily sighed. "You're very little and you need your sleep. How about you go and settle down in bed, okay? I'll finish what I'm doing and then I'll come and read you a story. I'm almost done, give me five minutes."

Courtney nodded and clambered off of Lily's leg.

"Love you, Lily," she said in a quiet voice and stuck her thumb into her mouth, before running back to her room.

Lily smiled and watched her. She sighed deeply to herself, turned around in her chair, and began to write the last paragraph.

 **So there will be a cute Iain and Lily chapter next! Not long to go until someone finds out what's going on. Stay tuned :-) x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Dancingwithmyshadow6: Me too :-)**

 **Ltfl: This chapter is a bit longer.**

Chapter Fourteen

Lily smiled to herself as she ran her lips along Iain's neck. She could feel his cold hands on her back, as they slowly moved to the clasp of her bra. She giggled, as he tickled her stomach and allowed her hair to dangle in his face. She hadn't had a night like this in so long and it felt good to just spend some quality time with her boyfriend. She took a deep breath and rested her head against his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.

She'd made sure to tidy the flat of all things that belonged to Courtney and Saffron, before Iain came round. She'd also shut their bedroom door so that it wasn't on show at all.

"This is nice," she whispered.

"Yeah," he breathed. "You're so beautiful."

Lily tilted her head to one side and leaned in to kiss him again. She lay back against the pillows, pulled the duvet up to her chin and listened closely. There was just complete silence; no crying, no screaming, and it felt good. It had been ages since she'd heard that.

"Hey, I'm really glad that you invited me over tonight," Iain said. "It's been a while."

"It has," Lily agreed, biting down on her lip. "What time is it?"

"Coming up to midnight," Iain said, looking at his watch. "We've been at this for a couple of hours now."

Lily nodded and said, "we should be going to bed soon. I um...I have a few things that I need to do in the morning."

"Like what?" Iain frowned, running his thumb along her neck. "Hey, I thought it was going to be a relaxing morning for the two of us. You have the day off and I don't start until late afternoon."

"I just...Have plans, that's all," Lily whispered.

"Right," he sighed, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. "Plans that overlap with your boyfriend again?"

"Iain, please don't," she whispered, shaking her head at him. "It's not like that. I...I need to go and see my mum."

"And you couldn't reschedule that for another day?" He asked.

"It's hard," Lily said. "Please don't be angry. We've had such a nice time tonight and I really don't want to ruin it. We slept together and...Well, I thought that was what you wanted."

"I did, and I thought you did too," Iain said. "But now you're making other plans."

"For the next day?" Lily hissed through gritted teeth. "It isn't a big deal. I...I just need to see my mum."

Iain sighed and pursed his lips together. "You know what I hoped," he whispered. "We'd sleep together, have a nice night with a bottle of wine or something, order a takeout and then the next morning I'd wake up early and cook a fry-up whilst you slept. We'd then spend the whole morning in our pyjamas with a cheesy movie or something."

"We can always do that another night," Lily whispered.

"But we can't though, can we?" Iain was close to shouting now. "Because there is always something. Just...Just forget it. You're right, we should get ready for bed. I...I'm going to go and find another blanket."

Iain climbed out of bed and quickly slipped on his shirt and slippers before exiting the bedroom. Lily sighed and sniffed, grabbing her own shirt and pulling it down over her head. If only Iain knew of her situation, if only she had been brave enough to talk to him about it. She felt like a complete failure of a girlfriend, and sister, and a daughter all in one. She quickly changed and just sat in bed with her knees hugged to her chest.

"Lily?" Iain hovered in the doorway and she slowly looked up from running her hands down her face.

He was fully dressed and held a spare blanket in his hands, but he looked concerned.

"Go away," she whispered, her eyes looking away from him.

"No," he sighed. "Um...What's this?"

"What?" She choked out, not wanting him to see her tears.

He cleared his throat and walked over, sighing and perching on the edge of the bed. He sniffed and laid the blanket down on the bed so Lily could now see what it was. Saffron's Peppa Pig blanket.

"What are you doing with that?" She asked him in a small voice. "I um...I thought you meant something adult when you said about getting another blanket," she tried to joke. "Not...Not some kids cartoon."

"I found it in the room next door," Iain whispered. "Which, to me, looks a bit like a nursery. There are kids beds, toys, clothes, everything."

Lily didn't say anything.

"I don't understand," he said. "What's...What's going on?"

"It doesn't matter," she whispered.

"Well it does," Iain said. "I'm confused. You haven't got siblings, kids, or...Are you babysitting or what? I don't get it."

"Get what?" Lily asked. "Um..." She hesitated and tears slowly began to prick her eyes. "I...I'm just looking after my little sisters for a bit," she whispered.

"I didn't think you had any siblings," he said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Lily just shrugged. "They're a lot younger than me, and the subject never really came up," she answered.

"Are they living with you or something?" He asked.

"I told you," she gritted her teeth together. "I'm just...I'm looking after them for a little while."

"Lily, come on," he sighed. "Enough of the lies and the secrets, please."

"I don't know what to say, Iain!" she snapped, snatching the blanket away from him. "You shouldn't have even gone in there! I kept that door shut for a reason."

"Lily," he whispered, reaching out and giving her knee a rub. "Start from the beginning, maybe?"

"Well..." Lily gulped to try and hold back her tears. "What exactly do you want to hear, huh? My aunt has gone back to China and she...She's left me in charge of two young girls, one of which is autistic, and my...my dad's dead and my...my mum's close to it. Is...Is that clear enough for you?"

She screamed and began to hit his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Okay, slow down." Iain raised his hands and grabbed hold of her wrists. "Your mum?"

Lily sniffed and began to cry. She held her hands to her face and Iain reached out and pulled her in for a hug, still not fully understanding what was going on.

"She's in a hospice," Lily cried into his chest. "She's really sick, te...terminal cancer. I promised the girls that I would take them to see her tomorrow, that's why I...I have to go."

"Come here, Chuckles," he whispered, keeping his arms wrapped around her. "Oh god, Lils. It's okay, just let it out for me. Why did you not say anything? To me, to Connie, to anyone." Lily just shook her head, crying into his chest. "We could have helped you."

"I...I thought I c...could do it by myself," Lily sobbed, hiccuping every now and then. "But then Saffron kept...kept getting panic attacks and refusing to go to school, and I was worrying about mum, and Mrs Beauchamp was calling me in to work extra shifts, and...I was falling into arrears."

"Wait, what?" He held her at arms length and removed some hair from her face. "Arrears?"

"It was one payment, and I...I've sorted it," she coughed. "But I was spending so much money on the girls. I...I asked Ethan if I could borrow some money and he's leant me some to cover this months payment."

"You could have spoken to me, Lily," Iain said.

"I didn't want to worry you," Lily told him. "I...I'm sorting it anyway. I'm going to try and get the child benefit money sent to my bank and I'm going to talk to my mum when I see her tomorrow. I thought that I had everything under control, and I...I was embarrassed."

"But we had the right to know," he said. "Especially Connie, or she wouldn't have asked you to work so many weekend shifts. You can't do this by yourself, Lily. Where are the girls tonight?"

"At a sleepover," Lily whispered. "One of the mums at school asked. That's why I invited you over, because I knew that they wouldn't be here."

"How old are they?" He asked, gently nudging her arm.

"Saffron's eight," Lily whispered. "And Courtney's six."

"Cute." He gave her a comforting smile and said, "why don't I come with you tomorrow then? Like I said, I don't start until later and I hate the fact that you've been going through this by yourself." Lily shrugged. "Come on, I'm great with kids. I took care of Gemma when she was younger, didn't I?"

"It's not that," she whispered. "They're not good with strangers, and...Mum's really sick."

"All the more reason I should come," Iain said. "Give you some support. I'm a paramedic Lils, I deal with people like that every day."

"It's just embarrassing and hard," Lily said. "It really upsets me to see her like that, especially because I know she probably won't be here in a couple of months. I have to stay strong though, for the girls."

"Come on," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's about time that you let me in." Lily leaned back against him and faintly nodded. "That's my girl," he said.

Lily managed a weak smile and he kissed her cheek. Her tears slowly subsided and she snuggled up close to him.

"Now I don't know about you but I'm not actually ready to go to sleep yet," Iain sighed. "Why don't you tell me more about these sisters of yours?"

"Why?" Lily asked, as he wiped away the remains of her tears.

"Because it's obvious that you care about them and love them," he said. "Or you wouldn't have done all this."

"They're just...Literally my whole world," she said. "Courtney acts way too mature for her age, which I kind of like because she often helps me out. Saffron's a bit more different, she has autism but she is absolutely gorgeous."

And Iain just sat and held her in his arms, as he listened closely without saying a single word.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter x**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ltfl: Let's hope so :-)**

 **Dancingwithmyshadow6: Me too! That will soon happen, I have big plans for that chapter :-)**

Chapter Fifteen

"Did you girls have a nice time?"

Lily crouched in front of Saffron and Courtney, who were both fully dressed and hyper after staying over at Anna's house. Anna was quite a shy child so she was stood on the stairs with her thumb in her mouth, holding back whilst Lily thanked her mum and made sure that her sisters hadn't left anything behind.

"They've been absolute angels," Lynne said. "They're more than welcome to come round again."

"Thank you so much," Lily said, standing up straight and keeping an arm around Saffron. "Same to Anna, she can always come round to mine and play with the girls."

"You know if there's anything that I can do for you, to help out," Lynne said, placing a gentle hand on Lily's arm. "Let me know."

"Thank you," Lily said, feeling embarrassed. "Come on girls, let's go."

Courtney and Saffron both waved goodbye to Anna and her mum, and the three of them set off down the path towards where Iain was waiting at the end. He had his mobile in his hand and looked as if he was pretending to text, but he looked up when he saw Lily.

"Are you Lily's boyfriend?" Courtney immediately asked him, letting out a dramatic gasp.

"Something like that," Iain chuckled, leaning across to give Lily a kiss.

"Courtney," Lily warned, subtly shaking her head at the young girl.

"So if you're Courtney." Iain crouched down in front of her and his eyes diverted to the other youngester. "You must be Saffron. I'm Iain, you little girls better not be beating me eh? I'm the most important person in Lily's life." And he pointed to himself.

Saffron and Courtney both began to laugh, whilst Iain pretended to pout and cry. That just caused them to laugh even more. Lily watched and with a sigh, took hold of Courtney and Saffron.

"We need to go," she said. "Visiting hours shut at two."

"Can I walk with Iain?" Courtney asked, as they made their way along the street.

"No, you're walking with me," Lily said, turning to address Iain. "You should get to work."

"I've got ages yet," Iain said, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, I said that I would come and support you Lily. I'm not turning my back on you now."

Lily just stared at him for a few seconds, before turning around again and heading off down the street. She began to talk to Courtney and Saffron about the sleepover, stopping to lend Courtney a piggyback ride. She laughed and kept pretending to drop her, as Saffron just watched her sisters and clapped happily. The whole time that this was going on, Iain just walked alongside and observed them.

"You're so good with them," he stated.

"Of course," Lily said, holding onto Courtney's legs so that she wouldn't slip from her back. "They're my sisters. What did you expect?"

Iain nodded and looked down at Saffron, who was just in her own little world. "What about you, Saffron?" Iain asked. "You don't fancy a piggyback? I can give you one if you'd like, I give amazing piggyback rides."

"She doesn't like them," Lily interrupted in a tone that sounded snappy and harsh. "Just leave her, okay?"

"I was just trying to help," he sighed.

"Jump, Lily!" Courtney squealed. "Jump!"

"Sorry, princess," Lily said. "I don't want you to fall. We'll take it nice and slow, okay?"

"No," Courtney whined. "Jump!"

"I'd do as your sister says if I was you," Iain chuckled. "She can get rather strict when she wants to be."

"What's that supposed to be mean?" Lily hissed through gritted teeth. "Courtney, come down now," she whispered, bending down to allow Courtney to climb off of her. "Good girl. Walk with your sister now, like a big girl."

"Could I have another one later?" Courtney asked solemnly.

"We'll see," Lily sighed, running a tired hand through her hair.

* * *

"Are the little ones visiting?" The nurse asked, as soon as they'd arrived at the hospice.

Lily glanced up and noticed that it was a completely different nurse to who she'd seen before. She wondered how many nurses were taking care of her mother and hoped that they actually knew what they were doing.

"Is that a problem?" Lily asked, trying not to lose her patience with her. "They've been allowed in before."

"Miss Chao," she sighed. "Your mother is very sick at the moment and..."

"I know," Lily snapped, turning towards the seats where Iain and her sisters were waiting. "I know she is," she whispered, turning back round. "But Saffron and Courtney have been allowed in before."

"No, I meant today," she said. "She's tired and she's been sick a few times as well. It's nothing to worry about, your mum will get bad days but it's probably not a good idea for the girls to see her like this."

Lily faintly nodded.

"Is that your husband?" She asked.

"Boyfriend, actually," Lily corrected her.

"Is he able to stay here and keep an eye on the girls," she suggested. "So you can come and see your mother."

Lily wasn't overly keen on the idea of Iain taking care of Saffron and Courtney for a few minutes. She knew what Saffron was like with strangers and they had only just met him. She wanted to see her mum though.

"It shouldn't be a problem," she whispered, her head hung. "I just want to see my mother."

Iain was more than happy to stay in the waiting room with Saffron and Courtney, and he even told Lily not to rush and to take as much time as she needed. Lily thankfully nodded and he gave her a quick hug and a kiss, before she left with the nurse.

Julie, the nurse from before, was in the room.

"Hello Lily, it's good to see you," Julie greeted her with her usual kind smile.

"How's she doing?" Lily asked, looking towards her mother who wasn't asleep but still looked quite out of it.

"She'll be okay," Julie said, rubbing Li Na's shoulder. "You've been a bit sick today, haven't you? Lily's here now though, are you going to say hello?"

Lily sighed and waved awkwardly at her mum. "Is she up for talking?" Lily asked Julie.

"Course she is," Julie said. "She never stops talking to us. Bit of a chatterbox, your mum."

"It's just, I hate to sound selfish..." Lily began. "But I need to sort out transferring some of her money over to myself, as well as getting the child benefit redirected as well. I understand that I'll need to ring the bank and the benefit office but they'll probably need to speak with her for security."

"That should be absolutely fine, Lily," Julie reassured her. "Give her a few minutes and we can ring them later. I'll stay with you, okay?"

"Thank you, I don't mean to sound..."

"Nonsense," Julie interrupted her. "It needs sorting, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Lily nodded. "I know I have my job, but...My wages won't be enough to get me and the girls by. Mum had said when she was first diagnosed, that the money in her bank was always there for us. I can't just start using her card though."

"Don't worry." Julie gave her a comforting smile. "We'll get it sorted, I promise."

Lily thanked her and walked over to the side of Li Na's bed, gently taking her hand in hers.

"Hey Mum," she whispered. "It's me."

"Lily," she groaned, and suddenly began coughing.

Lily let go of her hand and stepped back in shock, just as her mother began to choke and vomit. Julie was there in seconds, holding a bowl out for her to be sick into whilst whispering to her gently.

"Lily," Li Na sobbed, hating the fact that her daughter had to witness that.

"It's okay," Lily whispered and tried to hold back her tears, as she took a tissue and wiped around her mum's mouth. "Don't get upset over it. I see this every day in my profession, don't I?"

"But not with your own mum," Li Na pointed out. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, Lily."

"Don't apologise," Lily whispered, and continued to wipe around her mouth. "I love you."

"I know." She nodded, forcing a smile for her daughter. "And I love you too."

Lily didn't want to leave her mother. When she and Julie were sure that she'd stopped being sick, they rang the bank and the benefits office to try and get the money sorted out for Lily. Lily felt incredibly guilty and kept apologising to her mum for her selfishness but Li Na had just told her to stop being silly.

"Thanks for coming in today," Julie told Lily, as they left her room.

Li Na had fallen asleep and Lily had almost forgot that she'd left Iain alone with Saffron and Courtney.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Julie said. "Take care."

Lily nodded faintly and sniffed as she headed back down the corridor towards where Iain was waiting. Saffron and Courtney were playing in the toys that the staff left out and Iain was laying between them, watching and talking to them.

"Lily!" Courtney squealed. "Iain's really nice, and he's really fun too! He even knows about Peppa Pig, Saffron loves it!"

"Keep your voice down, Courtney," Lily whispered, sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Sorry," Courtney apologised, as she continued to play.

"Stay there girls," Iain said, standing up and going to join Lily on the chairs. "Hey, how'd it go? Did you get everything sorted out?" Lily just faintly nodded. "Yeah? How um...How's your mum doing?"

Lily just shrugged her shoulders. She sniffed and a single tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Hey, come here," he whispered, wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling her in for a hug.

He kissed her temple and rubbed at her back and she just leaned against him, silently crying and failing to wipe away her tears. Saffron continued to play but Courtney stopped and stared up at her older sister with worried eyes.

"She's okay," Iain whispered to Courtney. "I promise."

Courtney nodded back and stood up. She walked over and held her arms out, gently leaning over to hug Lily as well. Lily managed a weak smile through her tears and placed a hand on Courtney's, glad that she was there.

"Do you want to go home?" Iain asked Lily.

She stayed nodded but nodded, wanting nothing more but to just get out of the hospice.

"Shall I cancel my shift?" Iain asked, as the two of them stood up from their seats.

"No, don't," Lily whispered, shaking her head and leaning down to give Courtney another hug. "Thanks gorgeous, I love you," she said, kissing her cheek before standing up and gently twisting Courtney's hair into a little plait. "You need to work," she added to Iain.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Courtney giggled, looking up at her.

"Plaiting your hair," Lily said. Hearing the girls laugh always made her happier. "You have beautiful hair."

"Could you give me a proper makeover later?" Courtney asked her.

"Sure," Lily said, turning back to address Iain. "Don't cancel your shift. I'll be okay, I promise."

"Alright." Iain nodded, hands in his pockets. "But I'll come and see you afterwards, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered, as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "Thank you."


	16. Chapter 16

**CasualtyFanForever81: Me too :-)**

 **Lekyla19Casualty: Aww, thank you. It was one of my favourite chapters to write to be honest, thanks for reviewing.**

 **Ltfl: Yeah, me too. I think Iain is good with children :-)**

Chapter Sixteen

Lily was slouched on the sofa with Courtney on her lap, whilst Saffron sat cross legged beside her. Both girls kept their eyes completely fixated on the TV, enjoying one of their favourite episodes of Peppa Pig. Lily sighed, feeling bored, but seeing the girls so happy did make her smile.

"I like Iain," Courtney said, fidgeting and accidentally kicking Lily with her bare feet. "Will we see him again?"

"Maybe," Lily answered her.

"How did you two become boyfriend and girlfriend?" Courtney asked.

Lily was shocked. She never expected such a grown up question to come from such a small girl.

"Do you remember that accident I was in a little while ago?" Lily asked. "Aunty Bo brought you and Saffron to come and see me in the hospital, didn't she?"

"Yes," Courtney whispered. "I thought you were going to die."

"I'm okay though, aren't I?" Lily said, running her thumb over Courtney's cheek. "Well, Iain finally realised how he felt about me after the accident so he told me and asked me out and things just went from there."

"So if I want a boyfriend..." Courtney trailed off. "I'm going to have to get hit by a car?"

"No!" Lily laughed loudly, making Saffron jump. "No, no, and no. Absolutely not, Courtney! There are other ways to get a boyfriend, do you think you would want one someday?"

"I think so," Courtney said. "I have lots of friends who are boys, but they always want to date the pretty girly girls like Saffron."

"You're still young," Lily giggled. "I don't think I was thinking about boys when I was six. Focus on friends and family and school, okay?"

"Okay," Courtney repeated and nodded her head to show that she understood.

A ringing filled the air and Lily glanced to the arm of the sofa where her mobile was sat. The caller ID showed that it was work ringing her, and her heart sank. She gulped and sighed heavily, before picking up her phone.

"I'm going to have to answer this," she said, moving Courtney from her lap. "Stay here, girls."

She left them settled on the sofa and headed off to her bedroom to answer the call.

"Hello, Lily Chao speaking," she answered politely and professionally.

"Lily, it's Mrs Beauchamp," Connie said from the other end of the phone.

Lily rolled her eyes. She just knew that she was going to get called into work, she just knew it.

"Look, I'm sorry to ring you on your day off," Connie continued. "But I was wondering if you could come in and work an extra shift for us today. Doctor Hardy has gone home sick and Doctor Gardner and myself have a few meetings, so we're going to be incredibly short on doctors."

"I just..." Lily went to say.

"I would really appreciate it, Lily," Connie carried on, obviously trying to make her feel bad if she went and said no. "Think of the department. It's Saturday, the most busiest day with patients coming in drunk from a Friday night of fun."

"Okay, okay," Lily sighed, holding a hand to her head. "I'll come in."

"Thank you," Connie said. "I will see you soon."

Connie then quickly hung up the phone, before Lily could change her mind. Lily groaned and collapsed back against her bedroom wall with a heavy sigh. Kiera had gone out for the day with her sister, Iain was at work, and she had no one to look after the girls. She didn't really want to call for a last minute babysitter; Saffron wasn't keen on strangers and money was already tight.

"Girls," Lily called, walking into the living room. "I've got to go into work for a little while, okay? Will the two of you be okay here?"

"Can't we come too?" Courtney asked.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Lily shook her head. "I wish you could, but you can't I'm afraid. I'll do like I did before, I'll leave some snacks out and you can watch the Peppa Pig DVD. I'm hoping that I won't be long, but will you be okay?"

"Peppa!" Saffron screamed, her eyes fixed on the TV.

"Yes," Courtney replied, nodding at Lily. "I think so."

"I love you both," Lily said, walking over and kissing them both on the head. "I'll see you later and as a special treat, we can go out to McDonalds for dinner."

"Yes!" Courtney yelled, punching the air.

"Be good," Lily said, and gave them one last kiss on the cheeks.

* * *

Iain was shocked to see Lily turn up at the ED later, without Saffron and Courtney. He quickly left cleaning out the ambulance to Jez and hurried over to his girlfriend, pulling her over to the side so that they could talk.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, but not before giving her a kiss.

"Mrs Beauchamp called and asked me to work today," Lily informed him and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. "Apparently there is a shortage on doctors today. What could I say?"

"You could have said no," Iain said. "Well, what about the girls? Who's looking after them?" Lily didn't answer him. "Lily?"

"Home alone, okay?" Lily snapped. "I left them at home. It's fine, I...I've done it before but there was no one to look after them Iain."

"Lily!" He shouted. "That's illegal! What...What on earth were you thinking?"

"Don't yell at me, okay?" Lily shouted back. "You only found out that I was taking care of them yesterday, and now you're trying to take over because you think you're an expert on looking after kids?"

"Because maybe I am!" He said quickly without realising.

Lily looked to him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Go on then," she sighed. "You can't just leave it there, can you?"

"Come on," his voice quietened. "You know that I used to look after Gem when she was younger. Mum was always out getting drunk, and sometimes she never even came home. Gem had no one to look after her, apart from her big brother."

"But you then left her to go to the army," Lily said, regretting the words as soon as she said them.

"I didn't leave her," Iain whispered. "I left mum. I thought about Gem every single day." He sighed and said, "Lily. The girls are way too young to be left at home by themselves."

"I know," she said, choking up a little bit. "I'm sorry but I couldn't just let Mrs Beauchamp down again."

"I go on my break in about an hour," he said, hands on her shoulders. "How about I drop by your place and check on them for you?"

"No." Lily shook her head. "They're not allowed to answer the door or phone for anyone, and they know that."

"Then I'll take your key," he said. "Lily, you need to tell Mrs Beauchamp about your situation. She can help you."

Lily shook her head. "I don't want to tell her," she sobbed, small tears beginning to form. "Please. I can't, Iain."

"But you can't keep leaving them alone," Iain said. "There will be weekends where you'll have to work. Heck, we work in a hospital, so of course there will be. What are you planning on doing then?"

"I..." Lily shrugged and admitted, "I guess I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Let me check on them for you," Iain said. "You could always take your break at the same time and come with me if it'd make you feel more comfortable." Lily faintly nodded. "I love you and I'm only trying to help."

"I know," Lily whispered softly. "I just find that difficult."

"Why?" He questioned her.

"Because I've been handling it on my own," Lily said. "I'm not used to having other people to help out and honestly, I...I don't know if I like it."

"You can't do this on your own though, can you?" Iain said, gently taking her hand in his. "You can't."

Lily gulped and wiped away a small tear, before taking a nervous breath.

"They'll be okay," Lily reassured him. "On their own, I mean. I...I know that it's illegal but it isn't the first time they've been left home alone. I...I've done it before and they were fine, Courtney's a lot older than she is."

"I'm just worried for your sake," he said. "The girls may be okay but if anyone finds out, then they could be taken away from you."

Lily began to cry a bit harder then. She didn't want to let her mum and her aunt down, and she really didn't want Courtney and Saffron to be removed and taken into care. They were her sisters and she loved them.

"I can tell that you don't want that to happen," he said, rubbing at her neck whilst giving her another loving kiss on the lips.

"I don't," Lily cried. "Of course I don't!"

"Then let me help you," he said in a gentle voice. "They're still your sisters Lily, you're still the one in charge of them, and I'm just there to support you. Alright?"

Lily hesitated and nodded at him, allowing her tears to fall.

"Please don't tell Mrs Beauchamp," she pleaded in a quiet voice. "Please."

"Don't worry," Iain sighed, although in his heart he knew that it was the wrong thing to say. "Your secret's safe with me."

 **I'm off out in a little while to meet my friend but really wanted to get this chapter posted as I'd already planned it. Thanks for the reviews on the last one, I'm glad people are enjoying the story.**

 **I am not prepared for tonights episode of Casualty! It looks like a good but terrifying one, haha.**

 **Have a good day and a lovely Bank Holiday weekend x**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Okay, where do you think they are Saffron?" Iain asked, as he walked through Lily's flat with his hand in Saffron's.

Saffron kept her thumb in her mouth and shyly shrugged as she pushed the door to Lily's bedroom. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a completely empty bedroom. Iain gasped dramatically and allowed Saffron to walk him inside.

"I don't think there's anyone in here," he told her.

"Lily!" Saffron squealed.

Iain heard Lily giggle from behind him, knowing full well where she was. He wondered if Saffron had heard her as well but soon enough the young girl spun and began jumping up and down, pointing towards Lily who was stood hidden behind the door.

"Lily!" She repeated.

"You found me," Lily gasped, walking over and lifting her sister into her arms. "Well done, good girl. Now, did Iain help you at all?"

"No," Saffron giggled and clapped her hands. "By myself!"

"Good girl, you are clever," Lily said, setting her back down on the floor. "Go and find Courtney for me then. I have no idea where she could be." She smiled at her sister and said, "go on sweetheart. Iain can go with you."

Saffron grabbed Iain's hand again and dragged him out of the room to go in search of Courtney. Lily laughed and followed them all the way into the kitchen. The room was empty.

"Where is she?" Lily asked.

"Do you think she's in the bin, Saffron?" Iain joked, peering his head into the bin to have a look. "Nope, it doesn't look like she's in there. Where on earth could she be?"

"I don't know," Saffron whimpered, suddenly feeling very upset at the fact that she couldn't find her other sister.

"Hey, don't cry," Lily said, walking over and wrapping her arms around her. "I think I heard her. Do you want to come with me?" She held a finger to her lips and took her hand, leading her over to the cupboards.

Saffron took the handles and opened the cupboard doors up, laughing at what she saw. Courtney was curled up inside, giggling to herself, very proud at the hiding place that she'd found.

"You found her!" Lily praised, holding her hand out to high five Saffron. "Good girl! What's she doing in there, eh?"

Courtney crawled out of the cupboard and ran to hug Lily, continuing to giggle happily. Lily crouched down and returned the hug, rubbing small circles up and down her back whilst smiling up at Iain.

"Can we play again?" Courtney asked.

"I don't think so," Lily laughed, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "It's time for lunch. Go and sit down at the table for me."

Courtney nodded and climbed onto her usual chair, whilst Iain took Saffron over to sit her down as well. Lily filled Saffron's usual cup with juice before setting them down in front of her and headed over to get their plates out of the cupboard.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Iain questioned her.

"No, I can manage," Lily said. "Cheese sandwiches aren't exactly hard to make."

"Alright, I was only offering," he said, walking over and kissing her cheek. "I've had a blast this morning by the way. Spending time with you and the girls, it's been great fun. Made me feel like I was a kid again."

"You're good with them," Lily stated, turning to observe her sisters, as she made the sandwiches.

Courtney was talking to Saffron, and Saffron was just silently sipping at her juice.

"They like you," she whispered. "Saffron isn't usually good with strangers, but she adores you."

"I like them," Iain said.

"Could you take that over to Saffron for me?" Lily asked, handing him a plate with a few cheese sandwiches and some crisps on. "That has to go to Saffron, she always eats off of that plate."

"Sure," Iain said, taking it and going to set it down in front of Saffron.

"Saff, what do you say?" Lily called over. "Come on, remember what we talked about?"

"It's okay, Lily," Iain told her.

"No, it's not," Lily snapped. "Come on Saffie, what do you say to Iain?"

"Thank you," Saffron whispered.

"Good girl," Lily praised. "Now eat it all up for me, okay?"

Iain stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked back over to Lily, as she finished off making sandwiches for Courtney. He stayed silent as he took Courtney's plate over to the table as well.

"Thank you, Iain," Courtney said straight away.

"You're very welcome," Iain said, and went to help Lily tidy up. "You're different when you're around them. I never thought that I'd witness you play a game of hide and seek."

"Shut up," Lily laughed, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to help me by the way. I can manage things, Iain."

"Okay," he sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "So, what do you usually do on a Sunday afternoon after lunch then?" He asked. "What's the normal Chao sisters routine?"

"Well, the two girls would have a quick nap after lunch," Lily said, as she wiped away the crumbs from the chopping board. "Then I'd wake them up and we'd go for a nice walk in the country if the weather is nice. If not, I'd usually let them watch a bit of TV. Then we'd maybe sit down and play a game together. After that, I'd help the girls with any homework that they might have and then we'd watch a Disney film before bed."

"So you keep them busy then," Iain stated.

"Of course," Lily said, as if it was completely obvious. "I don't want them to be sat in front of the TV all the time. It's important for children to get exercise and fresh air. Besides, it gives them a distraction."

"From what?" Iain asked.

Lily shrugged and took a deep breath, before clearing her throat. "Mum," she whispered softly.

"And it gives you a distraction as well, right?" Iain guessed.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do when she goes, Iain," she admitted quietly. "I've already lost my dad. I...I'm only twenty-nine and..."

"Hey, come here," Iain whispered, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Listen, I'll finish off here okay? Why don't you go and put your feet up or something?" Lily looked back to Courtney and Saffron who were happily eating, and shook her head. "Please, Chuckles. Do this for me, yeah? You can trust me with them."

Lily faintly nodded and said, "just...Don't give them any dessert without my permission, okay? Courtney's allergic to nuts and too much sugary stuff can make them hyperactive."

"I won't," Iain chuckled. "Go on. Go and have some you time."

Lily nodded, kissed him, and headed off to her bedroom whilst Iain finished off cleaning.

"Where's Lily gone?" Saffron asked with a mouthful of food.

"She's just gone to have a little lie down," Iain said and sat down beside her at the table. "So have you two girlies had a good day then?"

"Yes!" They squealed in delight. "We like having you here, Iain," Courtney said. "You make Lily happy."

"I like being here," Iain said. "You two are just so lovely. Tell you what, how about the two of you do some drawing after lunch? You can draw Lily a nice picture, I think she'd like that."

"Okay!" Courtney agreed. "I think I've finished now, Iain. Can I get down please?"

"Wait until Saffron's finished, alright?" He said, removing her plate from the table and chucking it into the sink.

Courtney nodded and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Iain smiled and left the kitchen briefly to go and see if Lily was alright. He hoped that she was doing as instructed and getting some rest. She loved reading but she didn't do it much in the daytime, so he hoped that she was taking the opportunity.

He opened the bedroom door and had to smile when he saw the sight. She was still in her clothes but had fallen fast asleep on the bed. Sighing deeply, he walked over and removed the hair from her face. He crouched down and took her hands in his, kissing her on the cheek. Her eyes remained closed so he took hold of the duvet and draped it over her to make her comfortable.

"I love you, Lils," he whispered, running his thumb over her cheek. "Sweet dreams."

 **So I am still not over the episode tonight! I'm an emotional wreck. I won't go into too much detail in case you haven't seen it but I hope you all enjoyed it. Personally, I thought it was brilliant x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ltfl: He is! And I know, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It was definitely the best episode in a while. I loved the Lily and Iain scenes but it was so sad that Cal died. I'm just so scared for Ethan now, bless him.**

Chapter Eighteen

"Doctor Chao, I need you to go out on location with the paramedics today," Connie said, making her way over to Lily first thing on the Monday morning. "There's been a serious RTC and a doctor is needed, just as long as you and Iain are able to keep your hands off of each other."

Lily felt herself blush, but gave Connie a small smile. "I'm sure we'll be able to manage, Mrs Beauchamp."

"I hope so," she cleared her throat. "I'll see you back here later on."

Lily wasn't quite sure what that meant. Obviously, Connie would be seeing her later when she returned back to the ED but she could have meant it some other way, as in 'come to my office so we can have a chat about these issues.'

She said nothing more though and walked away to get changed into a doctor uniform.

"Okay Doctor Gardner," Connie sighed, walking across to Elle. "Could you help out in resus today, please? Lily's gone out with Iain and Jez, so you'll be a doctor short until her return I'm afraid."

"Is it really a good idea sending the couple out together?" Elle joked. "Shouldn't you have sent Ethan or something?"

"This is Lily we're talking about," she said. "Trust me, I made the same joke but Lily is a professional and she knows not to let her relationship get in the way of her job. I hope anyway."

The phone in reception soon began to ring and Connie offered to answer it. She sighed and placed a hand on her hip, whilst lifting it and holding it to her ear.

"Good morning, Holby City Emergency Department," she said, clearing her throat. "Connie Beauchamp speaking."

"Good morning, am I able to speak to a Miss Lily Chao please?" The woman at the end of the phone asked.

"I'm sorry, she's not available at the moment." Connie frowned to herself. "Can I take a message?"

"This is Mrs White, headteacher of Holby City Primary," she said. "It's regarding Lily's younger sister, Saffron. We really need to speak to Lily but if you could let her know that we phoned and get her to give us a ring back as soon as possible, that would be good."

"Primary?" Connie asked in confusion. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number."

"No, we have tried to contact Lily on her mobile but she isn't answering," Mrs White then said. "This was the alternative number that she gave to us. Could you just tell her to ring us back?"

"Sure," Connie said, still confused. "Um...Can I have the number please?" She asked, quickly grabbing some paper and a pen from the desk. "Okay," she said, jotting down the number of the school. "Right. Thank you for your call. I'll let her know."

Connie hung up the phone and rubbed at the back of her neck, turning round and literally bumping straight into Charlie.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologised. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know," Connie said. "That was the headteacher from the local primary school, asking to speak to Lily regarding her sister."

"Sister?" Charlie questioned, looking just as confused as Connie. "I didn't know Lily had any siblings. Why weren't they contacting her mum?"

"I don't know, but something doesn't add up," Connie said. "Look, um...My head hurts and I'm needed in resus. Have Lily wait in reception for me when she gets back, would you? She needs to ring the school and then I think I need to have a little chat with her."

"Will do," Charlie promised, as Connie made her way to resus.

* * *

"Thanks for your help today," Iain said to his girlfriend, as he lifted the patient out of the ambulance. "You were great," he complimented, quickly leaning across to give Lily a kiss on the cheek. "Love you."

"I love you too," Lily giggled at him.

"Okay, this is Sabrina Claris," Iain jumped straight back into doctor mode, as Cal came rushing out of the ED. "She was knocked over by a car going at sixty miles per hour down the motorway. BP is one hundred over sixty, and she was unconscious at the scene."

"Okay, get her into resus," Cal ordered.

They made their way inside and Lily quickly redid her messy hair into a ponytail, as Charlie stopped her from following the patient to resus.

"Could you just wait in reception for me?" He questioned.

"Why?" Lily asked, but followed him into reception anyway.

"Because Connie wanted to talk to you about something," he said.

Lily frowned and glanced across at Elle who was also giving her quite a concerned look. She gulped and her eyelashes fluttered a few times as she nodded at Charlie and whispered a small 'okay.' She took a nervous breath and sat down on one of the plastic chairs, her chest immediately tightening. It wasn't long until Connie strolled in so she guessed that Charlie must have gone to get her.

"Could you give this number a ring for me?" Connie asked, fishing the piece of paper out of her pocket and handing it to Lily.

Lily glanced at it and her stomach twisted into a knot. "That's the number for the school," she whispered softly and looked up to make eye contact with Connie. "What...What do you know?"

"Just give them a ring, and then we can discuss it," Connie said. "Here. You can use the reception phone."

Lily looked at Connie out of the corner of her eye and dialled the number. Quite aware of the fact that Connie was hovering nearby, she waited impatiently for someone to answer.

"Hi, it's Lily Chao," she introduced herself straight away. "I had a missed call."

"Ah, Lily." It was Mrs White, sounding relieved but also concerned. "Thank you for getting back to me."

"Yes, and I thought I mentioned not to contact me on this number," Lily whispered, hoping that Connie couldn't hear.

"We did ring your mobile first as requested," Mrs White said. "We rang twice as a matter of fact, and this was the only other way. I needed to talk to you about Saffron."

"Well, I'm working so you could have waited," Lily snapped, briefly closing her eyes. "I'm sorry," she breathed, opening them and tapping her fingers against the side of the phone. "It's been a busy day," she made some excuse for sounding rude. "What's happened? Is she okay?"

"She had quite a major meltdown in the classroom this morning," Mrs White said. "She ran off and we had a hard time getting her back in the classroom. She tried to leave school, Lily. Is there any way that you can come and collect her?"

"No, I'm working," Lily said. "Whilst at school, she's in your care so surely you can sort it."

"Lily, we try our best but if Saffron is feeling that bad then she needs to go home," Mrs White said. "I understand that your job is important, but I would really appreciate it if you could come and collect Saffron."

"Fine," Lily sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "But I may not be able to get off straight away."

"That's fine," Mrs White said. "Just ask for me when you arrive, okay? I'll see you later."

Lily whimpered and slammed the phone down. She bit her lip and held a hand to her head, trying not to burst into tears. She turned and saw that Connie was still standing there, arms folded across her chest.

"Shall we go to the office?" She asked, and Lily just faintly nodded her head. "Come on." Connie actually sounded worried instead of angry and she placed a hand on Lily's back before leading her away to the office. "What time do you need to get going?" She asked.

"Whenever," Lily just whispered, walking into the office. "I um...I said that I wouldn't be able to get off straight away."

"Okay." Connie gave her a sympathetic smile. "I won't keep you that long then."

Connie shut the door behind her and sat down on the sofa, patting the space next to her. Lily slowly dragged herself over and took a seat as well, her chest feeling tight.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" She asked, but Lily just shook her head. "Okay," she whispered. "So um, I'll just cut straight to the point then shall I? You have a sister?"

"Two," Lily whispered, her head turned slightly so that she didn't have to make eye contact. "I have two sisters."

"So what happened at the school today?" Connie asked. "Does it happen often?"

"Sometimes," Lily replied. "Saffron, she...she's eight, and she has autism."

"Does she?" Connie raised her eyebrows. "Lily, could you look at me for a second? We need to talk about this."

Lily hesitated and bit her lip, turning uncomfortably to look at Connie.

"So how old is your other sister then?" Connie asked, easing into the conversation slowly.

"Six," Lily answered in a choked up voice. "She...She's called Courtney."

"Pretty names," Connie said, reaching over for the tissue box on her desk and holding it out to Lily. "Bit of an age gap there as well, isn't there?"

Lily sniffed and pulled out a few of the tissues, gently dabbing at her watery eyes.

"So, are they living with you or something?" Connie questioned, adjusting her jacket and leaning forwards so that she could listen to Lily's answers. She stayed silent, but nodded. "Well, is um...Is there a particular reason that they don't live with your mum?

"Yeah." Lily suddenly started crying heavy sobs.

She continued to dab at her eyes and she turned her head again, not wanting Connie to see her so upset. Connie sighed and moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her neck, to which Lily quickly declined.

"Hey, none of that," Connie whispered soothingly. "Come on, why doesn't your mum look after them eh?"

"T...Terminal cancer," Lily sobbed, trying to find a dry patch on the tissue. "She...She's in a hospice."

Connie shook her head, unable to take in what Lily had just told her.

"Oh, Lily, come here," she whispered, pulling her in for a hug. "Come on, why did you not tell any of us this?"

"Iain knows," Lily cried against her blouse. "But he only found out the other day."

"Yeah?" Connie asked. "That's not really good enough, is it? You've still kept it from us all this time." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Turning down shifts, being completely distracted at work."

"I thought I could manage," Lily said.

"I'm your boss, Lily," Connie said. "I need to know about these things. I do have one question for you."

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"It sounds to me as if you're going through this completely on your own," Connie said.

"Not completely," Lily said. "Iain's been helping."

"But even so, that must be difficult," Connie said. "Considering he works at the same place as you. Before Iain though, it sounds as if you were going through it all by yourself."

"What's your question?" Lily asked, wiping at her eyes again.

"Those times where I asked you to work at the weekend," Connie said. "Who looked after them?"

Lily hung her head and mumbled, "they stayed home by themselves."

"Lily!" Connie shouted for the first time ever since the conversation. "That's illegal!" Lily flinched at her loud voice, and shut her eyes. "Okay," Connie sighed, glancing at her watch. "Listen, I think you need to leave and go and collect Saffron because the school sounded quite concerned about her didn't they?"

Lily nodded, newly formed tears in her eyes.

"We can talk about this more tomorrow," Connie said. "However, if you can't come into work for whatever reason then please let me know. I do not want those two little girls being left home alone again."

"Okay," Lily whispered, standing up. "Thank you, Mrs Beauchamp."

"Okay," Connie said, giving her back a comforting rub. "Come on, I'll drive you yeah?"

"You don't have to," Lily said.

"I want to," Connie said. "I have a daughter, don't I? I know the struggles."

"I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you," Lily said.

"Don't worry about it," Connie said. "Let's just focus on getting you some support now."

 **Bit of a long chapter but I did enjoy writing it. I hope you liked it x**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ltfl: Me too :-)**

 **Lekyla19Casualty: Thank you :-)**

Chapter Nineteen

"Saffron, we talked about this didn't we?" Lily asked, as she sat on the sofa with her sister. "Come on gorgeous girl, you can't keep getting upset at school. It isn't fair on the teachers or your other classmates."

Saffron whined and Lily sighed and glanced across at Connie who was sat in the armchair.

"Do you want a drink?" Lily offered, feeling embarrassed that her boss was there observing her home situation. "I could put the kettle on."

"I'll do it," Connie said standing up from the chair. "You seem to have your hands full. You take milk, don't you?" She said, and Lily gave her a faint nod. "Okay, I won't be long."

Lily sighed and turned back to Saffron, as Connie left for the kitchen.

"That's my boss, that is," Lily informed her sister. "Connie Beauchamp. I think you'd like her. She seems strict but she's actually quite good with kids, and she has a daughter as well."

Lily placed a hand on Saffron's knee and says, "we need to make this a fresh start, Saffron. No kicking off at school, no running out of the classroom, no nothing."

Saffron sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve and Lily wasn't sure if she really understood what she was saying.

"I found the biscuit tin," Connie said, strolling back into the room.

She held a tray with two mugs of tea, a cup of juice, and a plate of biscuits on it. Lily thanked her and she set the tray down on the coffee table.

"I got Saffron some orange juice, is that okay?" Connie asked.

"That's fine," Lily said. "Um...It...It's in the wrong cup though."

"Sorry?" Connie raised her eyebrows.

"She won't drink out of anything else," Lily said, quickly picking up the cup. "It's fine though." Connie gave her an apologetic smile, as Lily walked back into the kitchen to get Saffron's usual cup. "I'm sorry," she said, coming back in and handing it over to her sister.

"It's fine," Connie said. "Is she allowed biscuits?"

"Yeah, don't give her too many though," Lily said.

"Do you want a biscuit, Saffron?" Connie asked, holding the plate out to her.

Saffron held her cup and reached for a malted milk, taking a small bite out of it straight away.

"We call those moo cow biscuits, don't we sweetheart?" Lily said, tickling her under the chin. "Is that nice? Good girl."

"Very nice!" Saffron squealed, playfully dipping her biscuit into her juice.

"Don't do that, princess," Lily laughed, removing her small hand from the juice.

"So how bad is her autism then?" Connie asked, passing a cup of tea to Lily. "She's clearly quite good with her talking, isn't she?"

"It isn't that bad," Lily said, focusing her full attention on her little sister rather than listening to what Connie had to say. "She just gets very anxious and fixated. Peppa Pig is her main obsession and she can talk about it for hours and hours, and she struggles to stay in a classroom because there are just so many people in there. It took her a little longer to learn how to walk and talk, but she got there. She had to have speech therapy as a child, bless her."

"What about Courtney?" Connie questioned.

"Courtney's fine," Lily said. "There's nothing wrong with her. She acts very grown up for her age though bless her, because quite often she's had to be there to look after Saffron and help her with things that she finds hard. I think she understands that Saffron has special needs, she's ever so good."

"So has anyone else in your family been tested for being on the spectrum?" Connie asked, but Lily shook her head. "No? What about you?"

"No," she whispered. "I was never tested."

"Why?" Connie asked.

"There was never any need to," Lily said. "What are you implying exactly?"

"Nothing." Connie raised her eyebrows and had a sip of her tea. "I was just making conversation, that's all. Normally if a child is autistic, it's because autism usually runs in the family."

"Well, maybe our family is just different," Lily sighed. "You should go anyway. I can take care of Saff, and...The ED needs you." She looked around and said, "besides, I...I might as well tidy the flat if I'm going to be at home this afternoon."

"I don't mind staying," Connie said. "Help you out a bit, maybe?"

"Lily," Saffron whined, tugging on her sisters sleeve. "Can we do painting?"

Lily smiled and rubbed at her head, but nodded at Saffron. "I'll be fine, Mrs Beauchamp," she whispered. "I have to go and collect Courtney from school later on so I'll be fine, honestly."

"Well I can pick Courtney up," Connie offered. "Give you some time alone with Saffron."

Lily kissed Saffron's head and slowly looked up, with tears in her eyes. She glanced across at Connie and hesitantly returned the smile, whilst giving a small nod of the head.

* * *

"Hey Charlie!" Iain shouted as he made his way over to the older man.

He was just about to go on his break and was going to ask Lily if she fancied grabbing a coffee, but he couldn't see her anywhere. It worried him in a way but he just tried to tell himself that she was probably busy and rushed off her feet.

"Have you seen Lily anywhere?" He asked him.

"Um...Lily's gone home," Charlie said, confused. "Sorry. I thought you knew."

"No," Iain sighed. "I wasn't aware. What's happened? Is it her sister?" Charlie's eyes widened. "Yeah, I do know, it's fine," Iain told him. "I know all about it."

"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Well yes, it was. Connie's gone with her though, to try and sort things out. Lily's been keeping a lot of secrets lately, I wasn't aware that you knew what was going on at home."

"Well to be fair, I only found out a few days ago," Iain said. "At least Connie knows, I suppose. She um...She wasn't cross with Lily at all, was she?"

"I think concerned is more the word," Charlie said, giving him a reassuring smile. "If you're really that worried, then give Lily a call later but for now leave her and Connie to have some time alone for a bit okay? Lily's one of our best doctors and we need to try and help her."

"I know," Iain said. "I've been trying to get her to realise that for the past few days, Charlie. Lily's stubborn though."

"And by the sounds of it, she's been mothering her sisters for a while now," Charlie said. "It's going to take her a while to allow anyone else to help her."

"She's my girlfriend, Charlie," Iain said. "She means the world to me."

"I know she does," Charlie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But she's in good hands."

"Thanks Charlie," Iain said, and walked off to make his way back to the ambulance bay.

Once outside, he pulled his mobile out and decided to give Lily a quick call. He didn't care that she was with Connie and that Charlie had told him to give them some alone time, he just wanted to check if his girlfriend was okay.

It went to voicemail.

"Lily, it's Iain," he said, after the beep. "Listen. Um...Charlie told me what happened but maybe it's a good thing that Connie knows now eh? I just want you to know that we only want to help, and I hope that you'll let us. I'll pop round after my shift, see you and the girls, and maybe bring some dinner round or something. Alright. I love you, see you soon."

He sighed to himself and hung up the phone, shoving it back into his pocket.

* * *

Connie had just returned home from picking Courtney up. The school knew who she was from earlier on in the day, and she'd just explained the situation and gently introduced herself to Courtney. Of course, just like Iain, Courtney had fallen in love with her straight away.

The two of them returned home and Courtney ran straight to her room, wanting to show Connie all of her toys. Connie smiled and left her umbrella in the corner to dry, not quite believing the sudden downpour that had started to happen on the way home.

"Lily?" She called out, but received no answer.

"Connie, this is my favourite!" Courtney yelled, rushing back into the hallway with a stuffed dog that had a missing ear. "I got this when I was a very tiny baby."

"Hold on one second, sweetie," Connie whispered, walking into Lily's room.

The whole flat was silent. She looked to the bed and saw that Saffron and Lily were both fast asleep on it, Lily's arm wrapped around Saffron with a book lying open on her stomach.

Connie smiled at the sight and walked over, gently draping the duvet over them to try and make them comfortable. She stroked Saffron's hair and gave Lily's arm a comforting rub before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

"Are they asleep?" Courtney asked.

"They are," Connie whispered. "So keep it down, okay?"

"Okay," Courtney whispered back, her stuffed dog in her arms. "Do you like games?"

"Well, I love games," Connie said, crouching down to her level.

"Can we play one?" Courtney asked. "Snakes and ladders?"

"Sure," Connie agreed. "Do you know where it is?" Courtney nodded. "Okay, how about I get you a drink and you can set the board up for me?"

"Sure." Courtney smiled and rushed back into her room to grab the game.

Connie stood up straight and took a deep breath. "Oh, Lily," she whispered, running a hand through her hair and making her way into the kitchen.


	20. Chapter 20

**chels: Thanks for pointing that out. I've edited it :-)**

 **Lekyla19Casualty: Me too. More concerned Connie in this chapter.**

 **Ltfl: Yeah, hopefully.**

Chapter Twenty

Lily and Saffron slept for the rest of the evening, so it was up to Connie to feed Courtney and put her to bed. She didn't mind, Lily seemed exhausted and she wanted to help her out. Courtney was a lovely, polite girl anyway and she was happy to go straight to bed after she'd watched TV and had a story.

Lily woke up shortly after eight o'clock and carefully slid out of bed so that she wouldn't wake Saffron. She crept out of her room and saw Connie flicking through a magazine on the sofa.

"Hi sweetheart," Connie greeted her. "Good sleep?"

Lily faintly nodded and asked in a soft voice, "what are you still doing here?"

"Well I tidied up a bit, fed Courtney, put her to bed," Connie said. "You were tired."

"But...You don't know where everything goes." Lily squeezed her eyes shut and ran a hand through her hair. "Where's Courtney? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, she's sleeping," Connie said. "I read her a story and she went straight to sleep. She's a good kid. Is Saffron still in your bed?" Lily nodded. "Are you okay, Lily? You look a bit..."

"I...I was going to tidy," Lily said, fiddling with her sleeves. "There's...There's a system to it."

She was interrupted by someone knocking at the door.

"Can you please go?" Lily whined, as she perched on the arm of the sofa. "There's way too many people here now."

"Why don't we see who it is first, hmm?" Connie said gently, getting up and giving Lily's shoulder a rub before heading to the front door. Lily remained in the living room, feeling tired and on edge. "Lily! It's Iain!" Connie called and soon she arrived back, with Iain close behind.

"Hey beautiful," Iain greeted her and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You been asleep? You look quite out of it."

"Yes she has," Connie sighed. "Probably a good thing too."

"Stay out of this," Lily whispered and turned to Iain with a small sigh. "What do you want?"

"Alright," Iain chuckled. "You never responded to my voicemail so I thought I'd just pop by to see my girlfriend. I bought dinner." And he held up the plastic bag that he was holding. "And there are a couple of kids meals in there for Saffron and Courtney, and some cupcakes as well."

"You didn't have to do that," Lily said, but she was smiling. "The girls are asleep now."

"Well, the two of us could eat them," Iain suggested. "Three, if...If Connie is staying."

"Please Iain, call me Connie," Connie told him and placed an arm around Lily's shoulder. "And I think I'll be heading off now. I've taken care of this one and made sure she's okay, and Saffron and Courtney are both in bed now. I trust she's in good hands with you." And she gently stroked the hair out of Lily's face. "Hey, you're doing well," she encouraged her. "Keep your chin up, yeah?"

Lily nodded and forced a smile. "Okay," she whispered. Secretly, she actually didn't want Connie to leave.

"I'll look after her," Iain said, rushing over and grabbing her into a tight hug. Lily laughed but pushed him away, not really feeling up to it. "Thanks Connie," he said to the clinical lead, as she said goodbye and exited the flat. "So, Connie knows then hmm?" He whispered, sitting on the sofa and pulling her onto his lap.

"I don't know what to do," she sobbed. "Everything's going to change now. I don't want the girls to be taken away from me."

"Hey, they won't be," he whispered. "Did Connie say that?"

"No," Lily said. "But she obviously thinks I'm struggling. What if she calls social services?"

"She won't, she'll talk to you about it first," Iain said. "We just want to get you help, Lils."

"Exactly!" Lily shouted.

"Ssshh, you'll wake the girls," he soothed. "And I didn't mean it like that anyway. She'll sort your shifts out at work so that you can do the school run, and look after them at the weekends, and she might even offer to come round a few times and help so you can get some rest. She might offer a few counselling sessions..."

"But I don't need them," Lily argued.

"You can't do this on your own, Chuckles," Iain said. "We've established that. Also at the end of the day, your mum is seriously ill and we all know how hard losing a parent can be. Come on, you've already lost your dad."

"Please don't," Lily cried, looking down at her lap and shaking her head.

"And we could look at getting Saffron a bit more help," Iain said. "There are support workers out there, play therapists. Hey, it could even help Courtney."

"But Courtney's fine," Lily said. "And Saffron can be as well."

"But don't you think they could be upset about your mum too," Iain pointed out. "They're so young, Lily. It can't be easy for them."

Lily faintly nodded, tears trickling down her face.

"Now, this McDonalds is going to be cold if we don't eat it quick," Iain said, dropping the bag into her lap. "Eat up. There's a lot there."

"I only had McDonalds the other day," Lily whispered. "I took the girls."

"But one more won't hurt," he whispered in her ear, as he started to unpack the bag, dropping a chicken nugget meal into Lily's lap. "Have a happy meal as well," he joked, pulling two happy meals out of the bag as well.

"You're so good," she said. "Getting those for the kids."

"Hey, look!" He said with an excited voice, blanking what Lily had just said. "Smurf toys! Who do you want? Papa Smurf or Smurfette."

Lily smiled and said, "the girls can have the toys." She brought out a bag of chips and began to eat straight away, her head resting against Iain's chest. "God, McDonalds tastes so good when you're feeling crap."

"It does, right?" Iain agreed, as he sat there with a burger. "Hey, I'm really glad that you're my girlfriend you know? I um...I wanted to ask you something."

"Are you going to ask me to marry you?" Lily joked. "Because isn't it a bit too soon?"

"Don't worry, I don't have a ring," he said. "No, I...I really love spending time with you and the girls and I want to help you. So, um...I'd like you and the girls to move in with me and Gem."

"What?" Lily frowned and sat upright, quickly moving off of his lap. "M...Move in? Iain, it...It's too soon and five people living together may be cramped. And there's Gem to think about."

"She'll be fine, I'm sure," Iain said. "I've had experience with looking after kids Lily, and...I love Saffron and Courtney. I really do. You're my girlfriend and I don't want you to be alone in this."

Lily didn't say anything.

"What do you say?" Iain asked.

Lily shrugged and said, "I don't know."

"Well, why don't you take some time to think about it?" He suggested, realising that it was a huge question in such early stages of their relationship.

"I need to go and check on the girls," Lily said quickly, making an excuse to leave before climbing off of the sofa and walking out of the living room.

Iain sighed and continued to eat alone, trying his best to hide the disappointment that he was feeling.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

"I shouldn't have had that McDonalds last night," Lily giggled, as she and Iain entered the ED together. "I feel absolutely stuffed," she complained, resting her head against him as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

They hadn't mentioned Iain's question at all. He didn't want to force her into a decision if she wasn't ready, and Lily didn't want to upset him in any way. Besides, work wasn't the best place to chat about it.

"That's what fast food does to you," he laughed. "It tastes good at the time but afterwards, you just want to sleep. Think you can cope with work today?"

"Of course," Lily said, reaching up to give him a kiss.

"Um..." He kissed her back and cleared his throat. "Have you thought much more about my question?"

"I haven't had the chance," Lily sighed. "Look, I love you. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah. You too." Iain smiled lovingly at her, and started to make his way towards the ambulance bay.

Lily sighed and wearily pulled her coat off to hang up. She opened her locker and placed her bag inside, making sure to keep her mobile in the pocket of her trousers. Just as she shut the door, Charlie and Alicia walked in.

"Good morning, Doctor Chao," Alicia greeted her, with that usual morning smile that annoyed Lily. "How are you?"

"Good, thank you," Lily answered, hands in her pockets.

"You sure?" Charlie asked, obviously knowing all about her home situation from conversations with Connie.

"I'm sure," she said.

"I feel like I haven't seen much of you lately," Alicia said, putting her own things away. "Um...I'm going to be sitting my exams soon so I'll be with you again today, alright? You know, I'll then be learning from the best."

Whilst Lily wasn't too pleased about the idea, she was still Alicia's mentor at the end of the day.

"Is that okay, Lily?" Charlie asked. "Connie will understand, if you don't want any added stress."

"It won't give me any of that," Lily sighed deeply. "I'll be more than happy to guide Doctor Munroe in the correct way of medical procedures, honestly."

"Thank you," Alicia said, giving her an idolising smile as they left the staffroom. "I missed you yesterday. I shadowed Ethan but he, well, he isn't the best teacher in the world. You missed karaoke."

"I'm not too upset about that," Lily said, leading Alicia into a cubicle where a patient was waiting.

Lily stood back and observed Alicia in her work, knowing that she had to perform various procedures herself if she were to take her exams so soon. It got to eleven o'clock and she subtly checked her phone to see that thankfully, but oddly, the school hadn't tried to get hold of her.

Lily hated to admit it but Alicia had actually done quite well, and the patient was discharged shortly after being treated. Lily was in the middle of talking Alicia through improvements when Connie came into the cubicle.

"I hope you were giving your mentee a bit of praise there," Connie said to Lily.

"She was," Alicia spoke up quickly.

"I wasn't talking to you," Connie said. "You can go though, as I do need to have a few words with Lily."

"She can stay," Lily whispered, shaking her head. "I don't really care."

"Right, okay," Connie sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Um...Any phone-calls at all today?" Lily shook her head, her eyes on the floor. "Well, that's good then. I've been going through some paperwork in my office all morning."

"What paperwork?" Lily asked quietly.

"Well, I'm just worried about you for when the time comes," Connie whispered, aware of the fact that Alicia was still in the cubicle. "For when your mum passes away. You've already lost your dad, and...Well...Both parents could knock your confidence. Have you arranged any plans?"

"No," Lily answered quickly.

"Don't you think that you should start to plan ahead?" Connie asked. "For when the time does come."

"Could..." Lily took a deep breath before continuing, trying her best to sound as polite as possible. "Could we please stop talking about this, Mrs Beauchamp?"

"Lily," Alicia whispered, anxiously twiddling her thumbs. "I...I had no idea that your mum was ill, I'm so sorry."

"Yes, well." Connie shrugged her shoulders. "Lily is very good at hiding things from us, aren't you? No one else in the ED is really aware though so just keep it on the down low." She looked to Lily but received no response. "Anyway, as I said I think Saffron and Courtney could benefit from a couple of play therapy sessions, and I would like you to have a chat with Ben please."

"No." Lily shook her head. "I'm fine, we're all fine. Mrs Beauchamp, I appreciate what you're trying to do but you can't interfere like this. I have been looking after the girls for a long time now and they are my sisters, not yours or anybody else's."

"I'm just trying to help..." Connie went to say.

"No," Lily cut her off. "How's that going to look for Saffron and Courtney? They'll be the freaks of the school because they're having counselling, and I can't have that for them."

"No one is going to think that," Connie whispered. "Besides, no one even needs to know."

"Are you kidding?" Lily scoffed. "Schools are just full of gossip these days. Their classmates will find out eventually."

The whole time this was going on, Alicia just stood and hovered nearby wondering or not whether to stay or to leave. Lily had obviously been going through some problems.

"Well, maybe you should take some time to think about that," Connie said. "But I would like you to talk to Ben." Lily groaned and shut her eyes, holding her hands to her head. "No, don't," Connie said. "Losing a parent can be hard and you should know that better than anyone. Not only that but you have had a lot of stress in your life with the girls and your job." She sighed and said softly, "I wish you'd realise that I am only doing all of this to help you, Lily."

There was another pause and Connie waited for Lily to argue back again, before continuing.

"I also want you to see a specialist," Connie sighed, waiting to get her head completely bitten off. "To get you diagnosed for Aspergers."

"What?" Lily completely flipped, turning to look at Connie with wide eyes. "Oh so you find out I have an autistic sister and suddenly decide to label me?! No Mrs Beauchamp, there is absolutely nothing wrong with me!"

"And I'm not saying there is," Connie kept her voice calm and gentle. "But getting you tested wouldn't harm anyone."

"You never suspected anything before you found out about Saffron," Lily said.

"Well, I don't know." Connie gave a small shrug, and glanced across at Alicia. "You have shown a few...Symptoms before."

"Just leave me alone," Lily muttered and Connie quickly stepped to one side, allowing Lily to storm out.

"Lily!" Alicia called after her mentor.

Lily said nothing and pushed the doors to the ED open, storming out and across to the ambulance bay. She walked inside hoping to see Iain, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Jez?" She questioned the paramedic who was messing around with the basketball. "Where's Iain?"

"In the office," Jez said, gesturing to the office. "I'm meant to be tidying, but I couldn't be bothered. Don't tell him, yeah?"

"Noted," Lily said, and walked swiftly across to the office. She knocked and turned the handle before he could even open it for her. "Iain," she whispered, and he looked up from the chair that he was sitting in.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked, switching his mobile off. "Tell me, is Jez working or playing basketball?"

Lily just broke down in front of him, tears falling quickly from her eyes. Iain's eyes widened and he walked over and pulled her in for a comforting hug. Lily didn't even fight him away, but allowed him to hold her.

"What's happened, Lily?" Iain asked, stroking at her hair. "Is it the girls? Your mum?"

"No," she sobbed, shaking her head against him. "Mrs Beauchamp, she's doing my head in Iain. I can't take her!"

"Why?" Iain asked. "What's she doing? I thought she said that she was going to try and get you and the girls some counselling sorted out."

Lily nodded into his chest and sobbed out, "and...And she wants me to see a specialist, because she thinks that I could be like Saffron. I'm not though, I'm really not."

"And did you tell her that?" Iain asked, removing the wet strands of hair out of Lily's eyes. Lily nodded, continuing to cling to him. "Well, she can't force you to get tested if you don't want to be. She's only trying to help you though as well, we all are."

"But I'm fine," Lily cried.

"Listen," Iain cleared his throat and held her close to him. "I love you and please don't snap at me here, but I agree with what Mrs Beauchamp is saying."

"But I'm perfectly happy," Lily said. "I don't need to see Ben."

"It's not because you're upset Lily," Iain said. "It's because you've had a lot on lately and may just need to offload. And seeing a specialist isn't going to do any harm, if there isn't anything there then that's fine but if there is then we can get you help and support. You do get down sometimes anyway, about your mum right?"

"Anyone would," Lily said.

"Exactly," Iain said. "It's understandable but Ben can be there to talk to, when you don't feel comfortable with talking to anyone else."

Lily faintly nodded her head against him.

"Just do it for me, yeah?" Iain said with a small sigh. "If not for me, for those two little girls of yours."

Lily smiled and nodded again, Saffron and Courtney's little faces popping into her head.

"I'm sorry about last night," she cried, wiping at her eyes as Iain sat them both down on the sofa. "I just panicked."

"That's okay," he sighed, running his thumb over her knuckles. "I realise that it was just kind of thrown on you."

"I would like to live with you and Gem," Lily said, running a hand through her hair. "But I just don't have the room, and it won't be fair on you both with Saffron and Courtney."

"Okay." Iain nodded. "Why don't you move into mine then? Come on, I have a spare room, Lils. That would be us two, Gem, and then the girls. I mean, they're happy to share aren't they? I love those little girls as if they were my own Lily, I'd be more than happy for them to stay with me."

"Are you serious?" Lily asked.

"You're my girlfriend," Iain said. "The person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I absolutely hate being apart from you."

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"And I love you," he said. "Are you feeling better now? Lily nodded, resting her head back against him. "Come on. As much as I miss you when you're not with me you need to work, and Mrs Beauchamp will be worrying."

"Sure, I guess," Lily sighed. "By the way, Jez _is_ playing basketball."

* * *

Lily walked back into the ED with her hands in her pockets. Connie and Alicia were both stood by reception, in the middle of discussing a patient, but they immediately looked over when Connie noticed Lily.

"Patient in cubicles," Connie said, handing the notes over to Lily. "Mr Wells. Would you and Doctor Munroe be okay to deal with him?"

Lily nodded in silence, shocked that Connie wasn't bringing up the earlier incident.

"Good." Connie said. "Then you can go at half past two today, to allow you time to fetch the girls."

"It's fine, they can go to homework club," Lily said.

"I don't want them to," Connie told her. "Pick them up at the usual school time, take them home, and spend some quality time with them. Come on, just this once and then we can discuss your hours properly another time."

"Okay, thank you," Lily whispered. "And Mrs Beauchamp."

"What is it?" Connie asked.

"I'll do the counselling," Lily agreed reluctantly. "And I'll see a specialist about...You know?"

"What made you change your mind?" Connie asked.

Lily shrugged and said, "just something that Iain said."

"Good. I'll get you an appointment sorted," Connie said with a pleased smile, before walking off.

Lily watched her leave and turned to Alicia who was just smiling at her.

"You alright?" Alicia asked, and Lily gave an embarrassed nod. "Good. Let's get to work then."

 **Bit of a longer chapter there, and probably the last update for today. I have a long drama rehearsal later. Hope you enjoyed the update. Now it'll be more about Connie and Iain helping Lily and the girls out, mainly Iain, especially now that they could be moving in together :-) x**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Lily, I don't feel well."

Lily turned round at the sound of a small voice, and saw Courtney standing behind her. She was clutching her stuffed dog in her arms, and small tears shone in her eyes. Courtney was hardly ever sad; she was usually the hyperactive, happy, bubbly little girl who everyone liked, so it did worry Lily slightly.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Lily asked, crouching down and placing the back of her hand on Courtney's forehead. "Gosh, you're burning up. Do you feel sick at all?"

"A teeny tiny bit," Courtney whispered, nuzzling her face in the dog's fur.

"A teeny tiny bit," Lily repeated, and nodded at her sister. "Okay. How about you snuggle down in my bed? That'll make you feel better."

"Is that what you say to your patients?" Courtney asked, as Lily took her hand and led her through to her bedroom.

"No," Lily laughed, and helped Courtney into her bed. "But I know that it will make a very poorly, little girl better. Would you like an extra blanket?" Courtney laid her head down on the pillow and nodded. "Okay, I'll get you a nice cup of juice as well," Lily said, stroking at her hair. "Be right back," she whispered.

Lily kissed Courtney on the forehead and left to go and get her a few blankets and a drink. Saffron was in the living room playing happily by herself, and it was one of those moments when Lily wished that Iain was there to help her.

She was going to be moving in with him though so that was bound to be good, right? If they could make it work with Gem, and the girls.

* * *

Lily woke up to the sound of Saffron shouting her name. She yawned wearily and checked the time on her phone before holding a hand to her head. Saffron sounded scared and they weren't due to wake up for another hour or so, so she guessed that something bad had happened.

"Saffron?" She questioned, as the young girl pounced onto her bed. "What's wrong, princess? Why are you screaming?"

"Courtney's all spotty!" She squealed.

"What?" Lily frowned and her eyes widened.

She shook her head and climbed out of bed, rushing next door to where Courtney lay awake in bed. She still didn't look well and her skin was just covered in spots.

"Oh no," she complained. "Well missy, looks like you have a case of the chicken pox."

"Really?" A smile appeared on Courtney's face. "Yay! Anna had chicken pox and most of the kids in my class. Now I can tell them that I've had them."

"It's not exactly something to be happy about," Lily laughed.

"Of course it is," Courtney said. "Now I have my very own case of pox! It's great!"

"Okay, well you stay put," Lily sighed. "I just need to give Iain a call. Saffron, play by yourself for a little bit and then I'll help you get dressed."

She rushed out of the room and grabbed her mobile so that she could quickly give Iain a call. She couldn't even stand to speak to Connie, not after the conversation that they'd had.

"Hey Chuckles, what's up?" Iain answered the phone in seconds.

"I can't come into work today," Lily whispered, a hand on her hip. "Courtney's come down with chicken pox."

"Oh no," Iain sighed from the other end. "Right, okay. Have you told Connie?"

"Not yet," Lily said, tears stinging her eyes. "I'll ring her, I...I just wanted to let you know in case you were worried."

"I'll tell Connie for you," Iain promised. "Then you can focus on Courtney, alright?"

"Thanks," Lily whispered.

"Well, is there anything that I can do at all?" Iain offered. "Can I drop Saffron off at school?"

"I don't know if she'll be going," Lily said. "She won't want to, if Courtney's at home."

"Lils," Iain sighed. "Has Saffron had chicken pox before?"

"Yeah," Lily said. "Luckily she had them when she was three."

"And I assume that you have as well," he laughed.

"Yeah, I have," she managed to laugh back. "Years ago. I'm fine Iain, I just won't be able to come into work for a few days. Courtney's going to be bed ridden for at least a week."

"Well, I'll let Connie know for you," Iain said. "Send my love to Courtney, yeah?"

"I will do," Lily said in a quiet voice. "Thank you, Iain."

"Any time, my beautiful," Iain said.

Lily smiled to herself. She loved it when Iain called her things like that.

"Oh, and Lily?" Iain said, before she could hang up. "I spoke to Gem this morning, and she's fine with you moving in alright? So, the sooner we can get that sorted the better eh? I meant what I said, I want to be there for you and the girls."

"Thank you," Lily whispered, just as Courtney called her name. "Look. I better go because she's calling for me. I'll text you later with an update, okay? I love you."

"Love you too," Iain said.

Lily smiled a weary smile and hung up the phone, before heading back into her sisters bedroom. Courtney was sitting up in bed and Saffron was sitting opposite her, laughing and clapping her hand.

"Saffron, give your sister some rest," Lily whispered, ruffling her hair. "Right. Shall we get you ready for school?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm staying home like Courtney."

Lily nodded and said, "I thought you might say that." She turned to Courtney and asked, "how about I make you a hot chocolate, get you a few blankets and a hot water bottle, and I'll read you a story."

"I want a story too!" Saffron shouted.

"You can both have a story," Lily promised.

"Is Iain coming over today?" Courtney asked, as Lily sat on the edge of the bed and tucked her in to make sure that she was comfortable.

"Not today, sweetheart," Lily sighed and stroked at her hair. "But he has asked us to move in with him and his sister. Would you like that?"

"Like forever?" Courtney asked, and Lily nodded. "I would like that very much."

"What about you, Saffron?" Lily asked, turning to her other sister but she received no response. "You'll soon get used to the change, sweetie. Don't worry about anything, alright? I promise."

"She likes Iain too," Courtney whispered. "I don't like missing school, Lily."

"I know you don't," Lily said. "But you can't go when you have chicken pox, just in case there are some children in the school who have never had it. Come on, I'll read you both a story."

Lily did like spending the day at home with her sisters; the three of them had a pyjama day in Lily's bed but by the afternoon she was tired and grumpy and wishing that she was at work. Courtney and Saffron both fell asleep around one o'clock so she took the opportunity to check her phone. She had three text messages and two missed calls from work.

 _Iain: Hey sweetheart. I love you loads. Hope things are okay and send my love to the girls, especially Courtney. Hope she gets better poor thing xx_

 _Alicia: Hi Lily, so sorry to hear about everything that you've been going through. If there is anything that I can do, just let me know yeah? x_

 _Connie: Hope Courtney is feeling a bit better. Iain told me that she had chicken pox. I remember the torture I had to go through when Grace had them years ago. Take the time off to look after her and we'll talk when you come back. Take care of yourself and make sure to get plenty of sleep xx_

Tears pricked Lily's eyes when she read the messages. She wasn't good at letting people in, she didn't know how to, even Iain who she'd been dating for a couple of months now.

"Lily, are you okay?" Courtney whispered, half asleep.

"I'm fine, princess," Lily whispered back and stroked her hair. "Come on. Try and get some rest for me."

She yawned and lay down in bed, draping her arm across the youngest. Courtney nodded and snuggled close to Lily, before shutting her eyes again.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lily was pleased to return to work when Courtney finally got over her illness. She hadn't realised how hard chicken pox were to deal with, and the fact that Saffron had refused to go to school hadn't made things any easier. Connie had allowed her to take the time off work, knowing that she couldn't leave anyone else to look after Courtney when she was sick. It wouldn't be fair.

Slowly throughout the week, Lily had began to pack things into boxes ready for moving in day. She took the opportunity to have a sort out as well, but neither Saffron nor Courtney were good at throwing things away. They were due to move out of the flat in a week.

"Hey Chuckles, how's little one doing?" Iain asked, strolling over to Lily who was sat at the computer in reception. "Did she get to school okay?"

"Hmm, better," Lily replied wearily, holding a hand to her head. "She's no longer contagious and feels loads better within herself as well, she was pleased to be back at school."

"Good." Iain smiled. "And Saffron went back okay as well?" He asked, and she nodded. "I know it's hard Lily but she shouldn't have stayed home whilst Courtney was off. Look at you as well, you look exhausted."

"I know," she hissed. "But I couldn't exactly force her into the classroom, could I? Just don't get involved, Iain. I'm fine, there's just a lot to pack and the girls have been all over me."

"Alright," he sighed. "Well, Gem and I will be round on Saturday to help with the move. I can't wait. I've spoken to Connie and she's allowed me to have the day off. You were already off anyway, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Lily replied, her eyes slowly drooping. "For the girls."

Iain nodded and looked to his side to see Connie and Elle walking towards them.

"I'll see you later," Iain whispered, winking at Lily before walking away.

"Doctor Chao," Connie sighed. "Falling asleep on the job, are we?"

"No," Lily cleared her throat and shook her head, sitting up properly. "I'm sorry, Mrs Beauchamp. It's been a hard week."

"I know." Connie gave her a sympathetic smile. "How's Courtney doing now? I assume she's back at school."

"Yeah she is," Lily said. "I was just telling Iain, she's doing better."

"That's good," Connie agreed. "And Iain was telling me that you'll be moving into his place this Saturday, so that sounds pretty exciting. Well done, I'm pleased for you."

She smiled at Lily and said, "I've booked you an appointment with Ben for Thursday. It won't be for long, only an hour just to discuss and run things through with you so I wouldn't worry about it."

"Okay," Lily whispered.

"And I've just been talking to Elle and Charlie about your hours," she said. "Obviously your shifts used to be quite flexible with night shifts, and weekends, and evenings, Well, that's obviously going to be quite hard with the girls."

"I can get a babysitter," Lily said straight away. "Or get Gem and Iain to take care of them on days that they're not working."

"That might just be a bit difficult," Connie said. "And I don't want you paying out for a babysitter all the time. What time do you usually have to collect them from school?"

"Three o'clock," Lily said. "But half past four if they go to an after school club. I usually send them to homework club so I don't have to finish work so early."

"But you want some time with them, don't you?" Connie said. "And I'm sure they don't like going to homework club." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. We're going to have to have a think then. Leave it with me, alright?"

"Sure," Lily said, rubbing at her forehead.

"Have you had your break yet, Lily?" Elle asked. "You look tired, darling."

"I have so much to catch up on," Lily said, gesturing to the computer.

"Take your break first," Connie said. "Elle's right, you look extremely tired and I don't want another fainting experience from you. Feel free to use my office if you want, take a nap or something."

"I don't..."

"Do as I say," Connie interrupted her, but she was smiling. "I'm busy with meetings and patients anyway, so my office is completely free."

Lily faintly nodded and stood up from the desk. Connie gave her shoulder a rub and she slowly dragged herself towards Connie's office for a lay down.

"Bless her," Elle whispered. "She looked exhausted."

"She's been looking after a sick child for at least a week though," Connie pointed out. "We're sorting things for her though. It may take a while but it'll get there, and hopefully she'll be a bit brighter after she moves in with Iain. It's the fact that she's on her own with these two little girls, not forgetting the fact that one is autistic. We just need to keep an eye on her, and try and make her home and work life as easy as possible."

* * *

"So you're probably wondering why you're all here," Connie said, as the doctors and nurses crowded round in reception. "I needed to have a quiet chat with each and every one of you, regarding something that has been going on recently."

"Where's Lily?" Robyn asked.

"She's taking a nap in my office," Connie said. "But that's what I needed to talk to you about."

"Is it about her mum?" Alicia questioned.

"Yes." Connie nodded, forgetting that Alicia already knew most of it. "Right. So Lily's mum has been severely ill recently and she's staying in a hospice, she's got terminal cancer. As you're aware, Lily recently lost her father as well."

"Are you serious?" Ethan's eyes widened and Connie nodded. "Bless her. Why didn't she tell us?"

"I don't think she really wanted to talk about it," Iain said, standing up for his girlfriend.

"She was embarrassed, Ethan," Connie said. "Lily doesn't like to admit the fact that she needs help. She likes to take on everything by herself because that's who she is, she's extremely strong."

"Is her mum going to die?" Max asked.

"Duh, that's what terminal means," Louise scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Okay!" Connie snapped. "Let me finish. Lily's been having to look after her two younger siblings all by herself recently and..."

"I didn't know Lily was an older sister," Cal said.

"I don't think anybody did," Elle put in.

"The point is..." Connie went to continue. "I'm trying to sort stuff for her, and she's going to be moving in with Iain this weekend so that'll be good, but she just doesn't need any extra added stress at the moment. I know that's easier said than done because of the environment that we work in, but just don't be so hard on her for the time being. I'd appreciate it, so would Doctor Gardner, and I'm sure Lily would as well. Things have been hard for her."

"Don't worry, Mrs Beauchamp," Ethan said. "We'll look after her."

"Yeah," Alicia said in agreement. "We all will."

 **So things are going to be getting better for Lily now. She's moving in with Iain, everyone knows about her situation, and she'll be getting the help and support that she needs.**

 **I hope you're all still enjoying the story. Loads more to come and some very happy, cute chapters to come as well :-) x**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Ethan!" Lily called to her best friend and picked up a pace to catch up to him. Ethan turned and smiled when he saw that it was Lily, pleased to see her smiling for the first time in ages. "This is for you," Lily said, handing over a wad of cash.

"Whatever for?" He asked.

"I said that I would pay you back, didn't I?" Lily reminded him. "You leant me that money. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I needed it for, but the truth is that I...I'd missed a payment on my rent because I'd bought some quite expensive things for the girls."

"You don't need to be embarrassed," Ethan said. "It can happen. Heck, I've missed payments before."

"Well, thank you," Lily whispered, shoving the cash at him. "So here."

"You can keep it, yeah?" Ethan sighed. "You're my friend Lily and I wanted to help, so lending you the money was not a problem. Treat yourself or the girls or something."

"I couldn't do that," Lily said. "Please take it, Ethan. I said that I'd pay you back, I...I can't just take your money or I'd feel terrible."

"Okay," Ethan sighed, reluctantly taking the cash from her. "But don't be embarrassed, okay? Mrs Beauchamp informed us all of your situation and we understand how hard that must be."

"Thank you," Lily said. "That seriously means a lot, but I'm getting there. I have a counselling session with Ben on Thursday, I'm moving in with Iain and Gem on Saturday, and I have appointment with Saffron and Courtney's headteacher on Monday to see if they can set a counsellor up for them as well. Things are going well."

"That's great," Ethan said. "I'm proud of you. Hey, why don't you join us for a drink in the pub tonight?" He suggested. "Everyone's going."

"I can't," Lily sighed, her smile immediately dropping. "I have the girls, don't I? I could get my neighbour to look after them but I think she's working tonight, and it's probably too late to get a babysitter. I'm sorry, Ethan."

"Can't you bring them along?" Ethan asked. "I mean, we'd all love to meet them."

"I can't." Lily shook her head. "They're so young and Saffron doesn't like too much loud noise, it'd be unfair to bring them to a pub."

"Well, we could all go out for a meal instead," Ethan suggested. "I'm sure the others won't mind."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, frowning at him. "Because you guys usually go to the pub after work. Don't change your plans, just because of me. Please."

"I'm sure that it won't be a problem, Lily," Ethan said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise. Besides, I want to see these girls who you seem to adore so much."

"You're the best," Lily said.

"Hey." He smiled at her. "That's what best friends are for, right?"

* * *

"Are you sure they're coming?" Louise asked, as a small group of them sat around a table at a local restaurant. "Because I see no sign of them, and I am starving."

"Hey." Ethan took a sip of his drink. "She seemed really up for it, alright? She's probably getting the girls ready or something, isn't she?"

"Do we really have to have two screaming girls sitting at the table?" Cal asked.

"I don't think Saffron and Courtney are like that," Alicia said. "From what I've heard anyway, they're incredibly polite and sweet."

Just as she said that, the door to the restaurant opened. They all looked up and saw Lily, Iain and Gem enter. Iain was holding Courtney in his arms, and Lily had hold of Saffron. Iain pointed to the table and Ethan waved them over.

"Be nice," Ethan hissed to the group, mainly aiming his threat at Cal and Louise.

"Hey guys," Iain said, walking over first. "Are you going to sit between Gem and I then, little one?" He asked Courtney who nodded. "Good girl. You okay, Lils?" He asked, sitting Courtney down in the empty chair next to the seat that Gem had chosen.

He sat beside her.

"Want some help?" Gem offered, grabbing one of the kids menus for Courtney. "They have cheeseburgers, Courtney. Yummy."

"I'm fine," Lily answered shyly and sat down beside Iain with Saffron on her lap. "Let Gem help you with the menu, Courtney," she said, sitting Saffron down in the chair beside her and Ethan. "Thank you," she mouthed at Ethan, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"So who is who then?" Robyn asked, folding her arms across the table.

"The older one is Saffron," Lily whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "And the youngest is Courtney. Um...Saffron...Saffron has autism."

"They're adorable," Alicia gushed. "What are you having to eat girlies?"

"Cheeseburger!" Courtney said at once, happy and excitable.

"Yeah, I might have the same actually," Gem said, as she helped Courtney with her menu. "Hi five kiddo," she said, holding her hand up and allowing Courtney to slap her palm against hers.

Lily smiled at how good Gem was with the girls, and how much Courtney idolised her. It was lovely to watch.

"I'm going to get drinks," Iain offered, standing up from the table. "Orange Juice for the girls, coke for Gem and what do you want Lily?"

"I'll have a coke as well," Lily said, nodding at him. "Thank you."

He nodded and stroked at her hair, before walking over to the bar to order.

"What do you fancy then kiddo?" Lily asked, grabbing the other kids menu and laying it out in front of Saffron. "You don't like cheeseburgers, do you? What about sausage and chips, you like that."

Saffron stuck her thumb in her mouth and examined the pairs of eyes that were watching her.

"These are my friends and colleagues from the hospital," Lily said, stroking at her shiny hair. "They're very nice so you don't need to be scared. I'll order you the sausage and chips, okay?"

She kissed her cheek and said, "good girl."

"You're really good with them," Cal stated. "I never thought I'd see the day where Doctor Lily Chao turns maternal."

"Well, everyone has a different side," Lily sighed, as Iain came back over with a tray of drinks. "Thanks Iain," she said, taking an orange juice and placing it down in front of Saffron before taking her drink as well.

"We should go to the park someday," Alicia suggested. "I'm sure the girls would love that."

"I love the park!" Courtney squealed.

"Me too," Alicia gasped dramatically.

"Well, now that we all have our drinks," Robyn said, raising her glass. "A toast, to Lily."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, raising his own glass and smiling across at his best friend.

"To Lily!" They all cheered, causing the young doctor to blush.

Saffron and Courtney giggled and Iain leaned across to plant a kiss on his girlfriends cheek.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

She scanned the table and saw how everyone was interacting with each other, making sure to involve Saffron and Courtney in the conversation as well. They asked them about everything; school, hobbies, home, and although Courtney did most of the talking, even Saffron said the occasional word.

Lily smiled, so happy with her life right there and then.

She'd never realised it before, but she did actually have people who cared about her.

 **Enjoy x**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lily stumbled as she nervously made her way towards Ben's office. The sound of Connie's heels could be heard in the distance and she knew that she'd be on her case, if she even thought to skip her appointment. She had to admit that she was tempted though, personally she didn't feel as if she needed to speak to anyone about her personal problems.

She hovered outside the office door, her whole body burning up at the anxious thought of walking inside. There were many people within the department who'd spoken to Ben; Ash, Dylan, Cal, so it wasn't that much of a big deal right? That was what Ben was there for.

"Can't do it, huh?"

She jumped and spun round at the sound of someone's voice. She hadn't been expecting to see Charlie, and she wondered how long he'd actually been there for.

"Counselling can be scary," he sighed, moving to stand at Lily's side. "But the important thing to realise is that lots of people have it, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. When's your appointment?"

"In about five minutes," Lily whispered, her eyes fixated on the door in front of her.

"Ben won't mind if you're a little bit late," he said. "Why don't we grab a coffee first?" He smiled and said, "I can guarantee that it will make you feel better."

"Sure," Lily sighed, stepping away from the door.

* * *

"Do you know why you're having these appointments, Lily?" Charlie asked, as he sat with her in the staffroom.

Two mugs of coffee were sat on the table and they'd both taken a seat on the sofa. Lily glanced at her watch, anxious that time was getting on and that she should have been sat with Ben and not Charlie.

"Did Connie say anything to you?" He asked again.

Lily ran her hands down her face and glanced across, as if to really ask him if he was stupid.

"Of course," she sighed. "I agreed to them, didn't I?"

"But you still seem unsure," Charlie said.

"It's natural to be nervous, right?" Lily mentioned. "As you said, counselling can be scary." She picked up her mug with a shaking hand and had a small sip. "It's just the one session," she whispered.

"You wouldn't want to have anymore?" Charlie asked. "Because you don't have to have regular appointments with Ben. You can just see him if and when you want to. I think it could really help you though, Lily."

Lily shrugged her shoulders, determined to avoid eye contact with the nurse.

"You can chat about your mum," he said in a soft whisper.

Lily still wasn't overly comfortable in talking about her mum. She knew that when the time came for her mum to move on, that she would have to try and stay strong for the girls and that was going to be the hardest thing in the world.

"How's she doing now?" He asked, awkwardly placing a hand on her shoulder.

Lily sniffed and nudged him away, shutting her eyes for a brief second so that she could take a breath and compose herself.

"Not great," she eventually answered, her voice quiet and teary. "I'm seeing her on Sunday, once I've moved in with Iain."

"Good." Charlie nodded. "And the girls?"

"I'm not taking them." Lily shook her head and quickly wiped away a few loose tears. "She was so ill last time, and I don't want to put Saffron and Courtney through that. Iain and Gem have offered to look after them, luckily they're both off work."

"How are the girls doing now?" He asked. "Are they having any form of counselling at all?"

"I have an appointment with the headteacher next week," Lily told him. "Mrs Beauchamp is aware. I don't know, Courtney is only six and she's always so happy and bubbly so part of me thinks that counselling would just be a waste of time for her."

"But what about Saffron?" Charlie asked.

Lily was beginning to feel as if she was already in her appointment. Charlie had quickly changed from nurse to counsellor in just a matter of seconds.

"She still finds certain things difficult," Lily said. "Her speech is incredible, and she is very affectionate, but I still think that she will get worse as she grows older. School is tricky for her, I can't even count the amount of times she's ran out of the classroom."

"She's a bright girl though, isn't she?" Charlie said. "And she has you as a sister, she'll get there."

"I guess," Lily whispered.

The door to the staffroom opened and Connie walked in, a look of relief washing over her when she saw that Lily was in there.

"What the hell is going on?" She snapped, shutting the door behind her, and standing with her hands on her hips. "I've just had Ben on the phone telling me that you never turned up for your appointment."

"Sorry, my fault," Charlie spoke up. "The time seemed to run away with me."

"What's going on?" Connie asked, moving to fold her arms.

"Lily just looked a bit nervous about her appointment, so I thought a coffee might help," Charlie said. "I didn't realise the time, Connie. I'm sorry."

Connie sighed and nodded, giving Charlie a small smile before turning to address Lily.

"This appointment is important, Lily," she said to her in a calm voice. "Okay? Now, finish your coffee and then I'll take you back to Ben's office. I know you're nervous but you'll feel better once you're in there."

"It's fine," Lily sighed, standing up from the sofa. "I've finished." She forced a smile and turned back to Charlie, thanking him quietly, before following Connie out of the staffroom.

Connie also turned and thanked Charlie, despite the fact that Lily was late for her appointment. He just nodded and had a sip of his coffee, praying that Lily was going to be okay. She seemed loads better than she had been, so that was a good sign.

"Right, you are going to be fine," Connie said, stopping outside Ben's office and placing a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Just go in there and be amazing, okay? Be honest with Ben, talk to him, tell him about the girls and your mum, he's not going to judge you on anything."

"I know," Lily whispered.

"Um...Did talking to Charlie help?" Connie asked, and Lily faintly nodded with her arms across her chest. "Good. You need to know that you can come to us whenever you have a problem. I'll leave you to it though for now, and I'll come and ask you how it went later."

She gave Lily's shoulder a rub and was about to walk away when Lily called her back.

"What is it?" She asked in alarm, thinking that there was something wrong.

"Thank you," Lily whispered with a small smile, before disappearing into Ben's office.

 **I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. This was just a small filler chapter and the next chapter will show Lily and Iain moving in together :-)**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Courtney, have you finished yet?" Lily called, as she set a box of her things down onto the kitchen floor. She received no answer. "Courtney!" She shouted again and turned to observe Saffron who was sat on the sofa watching Peppa Pig. "Saffron, honey, have you finished packing away your cuddly toys?"

Saffron said nothing.

"Yes Lily," Lily muttered. "You're talking to yourself again."

There was the sound of the door opening and Iain's voice was heard. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that he was there so that he could help out. She'd prepared everything, including a schedule so that Courtney and Saffron were able to get involved but neither of them had been much help to their big sister.

"Almost done?" Iain asked, strolling into the kitchen with Gem at his side.

"No," Lily whined. "Could you go and check on Courtney for me?"

"I'll go," Gem offered, and left for the girls bedroom.

"I can't believe you're actually moving in with me," Iain asked, walking over and giving his girlfriend a kiss. "This is going to me great, living with you and the girls."

"Yeah," Lily sighed, resting her head against his chest. "So great."

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, stroking her hair. "I thought you would have been a bit more enthusiastic than that."

"I am." She nodded, forcing a smile. "I really am. I'm just tired, and Saffron and Courtney are driving me crazy. Courtney keeps getting distracted and Saffron just wants to watch her show, neither of them are helping which is why it's taking so bloody long."

"Hey, hey, calm down," Iain comforted. "Gem and I are here now. Why don't you carry on here and I'll see if I can talk to Saffron?"

"Thanks," Lily whispered. "She just needs to sort her cuddly toys out. I've already packed her clothes and other toys into boxes."

"No problem," Iain said, clapping his hands together and entering into the living room.

Lily smiled lovingly at her boyfriend and began to pack away the kitchen utensils into the other boxes. She was really excited to be moving in with Iain, she'd never lived with a boyfriend before and it felt a bit weird. She just hoped that Saffron and Courtney would settle in with their new environment quickly.

"Lily!" Courtney squealed, hurrying into the kitchen.

Lily was about to ask if she was okay when she saw what she was holding. Her eyes went wide and she practically shouted Courtney's name. Tears pricked the young girls eyes and she clutched the snow globe in her hands.

"Courtney, I'm sorry," Lily said, holding her hands to her head. "But what the hell are you doing with that?"

"It's pretty," Courtney whispered.

Lily snatched the snow globe from her small hands and examined it to see if it was broken at all. Luckily, it wasn't. Tears rolled down Courtney's cheek and Iain rushed in to see what on earth was going on.

"Hey, go easy on her," Iain told her. "She just wanted to look."

"She could have broken it," Lily whispered.

"I'm sorry," Courtney apologised, looking up at Lily with sad eyes. "I'm really sorry."

"Why don't you go back to Gem?" Iain said, patting Courtney on the shoulder. "Good girl."

Courtney nodded at Iain and slowly dragged herself back to the bedroom to help Gem finish with the packing.

"That's beautiful," Iain said, walking over so that he could get a proper look at the snow globe.

Inside were three little girls, and whenever you shook it snow fell. The girls were dressed in thick coats, hats and scarfs, and were ice-skating around a frozen lake. The image made Iain smile.

"It must be special," he whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Mum bought it for one Christmas," Lily whispered back, gently shaking the globe to make the snow fall. "It was shortly after Courtney's first birthday. She said that it reminded her of her three girls, and placed it on the windowsill in the living room. I was allowed to keep it when she fell ill."

"I can see why you were so worried about it," Iain said. "But Courtney would have been gentle."

"I can't believe I shouted at her like that," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault," Iain said. "You're tired, you're stressed, and you're worried about visiting your mum tomorrow."

"I'm so lucky to have you," Lily said, leaning against him. "I don't know if I've said a proper thank you, but thanks."

"You're very welcome," he said, kissing her temple. "Here's to the future, eh?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded in agreement, and she shook the snow globe one more time. "To the future."

* * *

The kids were in bed, and Gem was listening to music in her bedroom. Iain and Lily were snuggled up on the sofa of Iain's flat, a romantic movie playing in the background. Empty KFC boxes sat on the carpet surrounding them, and the faint sound of traffic could be heard outside.

"Well, we did it," he sighed, glancing around the flat.

It had been a long day, and the moving van had only just finished dropping off the rest of the furniture. Lily actually couldn't wait to crawl into bed and go to sleep.

"Are you happy?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I am," Lily said. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I am," he repeated. "Listen, did you want me to come with you to visit your mum tomorrow?"

"No." Lily shook her head. "I'd rather go on my own. Could you look after the girls for me? Mum was so sick last time, I'd rather just have some quality time with her."

"Of course." Iain gave her an understanding nod. "That's absolutely fine, princess."

"Lily?"

A small voice was heard and Lily and Iain turned to see Courtney and Saffron hovering in the doorway. Lily smiled and sat upright on the sofa, holding her arms out to her sisters. Both girls grinned and rushed over, throwing themselves onto the couple.

"What are you two doing up?" Lily asked, tickling Courtney. "I'm sorry I shouted at you earlier, beautiful. I love you."

"It's okay," Courtney whispered. "We couldn't sleep."

"It's scary, isn't it?" Iain said. "New place."

Courtney nodded, and Saffron began to suck on her thumb. The door opened again and Gem then walked in, walking over and climbing onto the sofa beside her brother.

"Here comes the other one," Lily joked, smiling at Iain's sister and then her own sisters. "This would make a great family photo."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Iain said, turning to face his girlfriend before giving her a kiss.

"Can we watch Jungle Book?" Courtney yelled.

"Yes!" Saffron giggled.

"Yeah, can we?" Gem agreed.

"Aren't you a little too old for that film?" Iain frowned at her.

"Hey." She slapped his arm. "You can never be too old for Jungle Book. Come on Lils, let's put it on."

"Sure," Lily said, her arms wrapped around Courtney and Saffron protectively. "I love you girls so much. From now on, we're not alone in this."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm just off out but wanted to update :-) x**


	27. Chapter 27

**MrsWhovian: Me too. It's one of my favourite Disney films. Have you seen the new one? I loved it :-)**

 **chelsea: That's really weird, I wonder if it's the way I've updated. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story though. More to come.**

 **Warning: This chapter could be upsetting for some viewers and does have some mention of self harm.**

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Li-Na was fast asleep in her usual secluded room, when Lily visited. Lily thought that she looked so peaceful and happy, she prayed that she wouldn't wake up during her visit. She didn't want to alarm her, and the things that she had to say were going to be a whole lot easier if she wasn't actually able to hear.

"Hey Mum," she whispered, gently wiping a small bit of drool from her chin.

She sniffed and sat down in the chair that stood by the bed, the tissue clutched in her fist. Her mum's eyes remained shut, her snoring echoing throughout the room. Lily wondered what she was dreaming about, and if she could even sense that she was there.

"So, the girls and I moved in with Iain and Gem yesterday," Lily said. "Iain's been so good to us, like a proper boyfriend. I um...I think you'd like him. He's really good with the girls as well, especially Saffron."

Lily sighed and scanned the room that they were in. There were flowers, get well cards, balloons, stuffed animals, cartons and cartons of orange juice. Her mum had always been a popular woman, loved by everyone because of her kind and gentle heart, and she'd always admired that.

"I love you, you know?" Lily said softly, reaching out and giving her mum's hand a squeeze. "More than anything." A single tear rolled down her cheek and she choked out, "Dad will look after you, I...I promise. And I'll look after the girls."

The door creaked open and Julie walked in, giving Lily a small and comforting smile.

"Can I have a word?" She asked.

"Now?" Lily questioned, frowning at the nurse. "What if she wakes up?"

"It will only take a second," Julie said. "Your mum will be fine for a little while, Lily."

"Okay," Lily said, squeezing her mum's hand and leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

Julie smiled at the sight and Lily slowly made her way over, wiping a small tear from her eye.

"Why don't we go and get a coffee?" Julie suggested, a hand on Lily's shoulder.

Lily could tell just by her actions and the tone of her voice, that there was bad news to come. She nodded at Julie and the two of them walked along the corridor to a private room where relatives usually had meetings about their loved ones. Julie made them both a drink and they sat down on the sofa, with the door shut.

"No girls today then?" Julie asked quietly, gently easing into the conversation.

"I wanted to come alone," Lily said. "Mum was really sick last time, and sometimes I just want to be alone with her. My boyfriend's looking after them at home though."

"I'm glad you told someone about your situation, Lily," Julie said. "Well done."

"We've moved in with Iain now," Lily informed her. "Yesterday."

"That's great, I'm pleased for you," Julie said. "But are you getting any support at all, Lily?"

"I've been having counselling," Lily confessed. "Well, I've only had the one session and um...We're getting something in place for Saffron and Courtney as well, they'll..."

"I'd like to talk about you though," Julie said. "Just forget the girls for a second. What about you?"

"Well, the counselling," Lily whispered. "Like I said. My um...My boss also wants to get me tested for Aspergers, because she thinks I could have it. I'm living with Iain now, people are aware of the situation, so...It's fine."

"Is it?" Julie asked.

Lily sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "What did you want to talk to me about?" She asked. "You can't have just called me in here to ask about the girls and my wellbeing."

"Well." Julie gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "Your mum's not well Lily, like...Really not well. There's been a couple of days recently where..."

"How long does she have left?" Lily interrupted, choking back a sob. "Please Julie, just tell me. Not only am I her daughter, but I'm a doctor as well, and I should be kept informed. I know that's what you wanted to say, right?"

"Lily, maybe you should contact someone," Julie said. "I feel like someone should be here with you."

"Just tell me," Lily cried, fast tears rolling down both sides of her face.

Julie sighed and replied with, "a couple of weeks." Lily sniffed, hanging her head. "It could be even less," she added.

Lily burst into tears, burying her face into her hands so that she didn't have to look at Julie. Julie sighed heavily and placed a hand on the young woman's back, staying silent for the moment.

"It's okay," Julie whispered. "I'm really sorry, Lily. I want you to come and visit your mum again, okay? Bring your boyfriend, and bring the girls. They deserve to see her one more time, eh?"

"I really don't want to upset them," Lily sobbed. "They're only young!"

"I know, but this is their mum as well," Julie said. "Believe me Lily, you'll be upsetting them more by keeping them from seeing her. Let me ring someone for you, yeah?"

"I don't want you too," Lily argued through gritted teeth. "I...I just want to go back to her. Please!"

Lily coughed and began to breathe heavily, her fingernails digging deep into her skin so that she drew blood. Julie clamped a hand down on Lily's, causing her to quickly stop, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You're bleeding," she stated gently. "I'll get you a tissue, yeah?"

"It's fine, I...I've done it before," Lily whispered.

Julie glanced at her out the corner of her eye and said, "have you?"

"Not much." Lily shrugged. "Just when I'm upset or...Worried. I don't like talking to people Julie, it helps me."

Julie said nothing but just nodded to show that she was listening to Lily.

"Let me clean that arm for you," she said and stood up to go and get a tissue.

* * *

Lily arrived home late, shivering and tired. She had a meeting with the headteacher in the morning, about sorting out some sessions with the school counsellor for Saffron and Courtney, so she had to be up early. She had no idea how she was going to manage that.

"Hey," Iain whispered, strolling into the hallway. "Gem's at work, and Saffron and Courtney are in bed. They've been fed, we've played, I've helped with homework, and been like the perfect big brother."

Lily didn't even smile at him.

"I was expecting a little more than that," Iain chuckled, but then noticed the look on Lily's face and guessed that something must have happened. "What's wrong? Is it your mum?"

"I..." Lily whispered. "I um...I need to kiss the girls goodnight."

"Lily." Iain stepped in front of her. "What's happened?"

"Iain, I need to kiss the girls," she cried, her voice getting louder and louder. "I need to see them! Let me through!" And she began to punch him hard in the chest, breaking down into tears and falling into his arms. "I need to see them," she cried weakly into his shirt.

"Ssshh, they're fine," Iain soothed, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend in a protective manner. "They're fine. Lily, tell me what's happened. Come on."

He guided her into the living room and sat down on the sofa, pulling her onto his lap for a cuddle. Lily tried to resist but he held onto her tightly, running a gentle hand through her hair in an effort to calm her.

"Mum only has a couple of weeks left," Lily whispered, when her tears had slowly started to subside.

"Oh, Lily," he said sympathetically. "Come here."

"I don't know what to do, Iain," she cried. "Things were getting better. I'd told people, I...I'd started to see Ben, we were doing well for money, and I'd moved in with you. I...I just never thought that...that Mum was actually dying. Hearing that today though, well, it made it all seem so real."

There was a pause before she continued.

"They want me to take the girls one last time," Lily said. "So they can say goodbye."

"Not a bad idea," Iain said. "You need to tell Mrs Beauchamp this, alright? And Ben, and the school will need to know. When kids are angry, they often kick off, so you'll need to let them know how bad your mum really is, so they can keep an eye on Saffron and Courtney."

"I'm talking to the headteacher tomorrow anyway," Lily said. "About them seeing the school counsellor."

"Well, that's good," he said, removing the hair from her face. "You're doing so well, Chuckles, and I am so proud of you. When's your next appointment with Ben?"

"I don't know," Lily said.

"Talk to Mrs Beauchamp tomorrow," Iain said. "See if you could book another appointment with him for as soon as possible. I know you weren't keen, but these sessions are important for times like this. I've had counselling before, and you admit that your last session helped right?"

"Yeah, it did," Lily sighed, lifting her head to lock eyes with him. "Have you?"

"Well, I had anger management but it's practically the same thing," he laughed. "Now, I want to ask you something. Yesterday, do you remember when I asked you if you were happy?" Lily nodded. "And you said yes?" Lily nodded again. "Were you telling the truth?"

"I thought I was," Lily whispered. "I am happy. I love my job, I love the girls, I love you, and I love the fact that we're living together. I am happy, usually, but I do get low. I've just been told my mum only has a couple of weeks left Iain, so I'm bound to be upset."

"I know, I know," he calmed. "Don't get defensive. I just wondered."

"I am happy," Lily said. "But sometimes I have bad days, sometimes I do just want to climb into bed and sleep but I can't because I need to look after Saffron and Courtney. It isn't every day, I...I guess it just depends."

"Okay." Iain nodded. "So, if you do have one of those days could you try and tell me? That way, I'll allow you to sleep and take some time out if you need to, and I can occupy the girls."

"I can try," Lily said.

"This talking thing, we need to work at it," Iain said, with a small smile on his face. "The first step was having an appointment with Ben, so what's the second?" Lily shrugged in his arms. "Continuing those appointments, and continuing to talk to Connie and myself. Don't shut us out, we're here to help. Courtney and Saffron aren't the only ones who need looking after, you know? You do as well."

"Okay," Lily whispered.

"I love you," Iain said, kissing her temple. "Always will. Come on, you look exhausted so I'll come and lay down with you for a bit yeah?"

"Yeah," Lily repeated in a quiet voice. "Okay."

 **Probably one of my favourite chapters to write. This story will move along slowly, I'm expecting it to be quite a long one but hopefully it won't drag. There's a lot still to come so I hope you're still enjoying the read.**

 **If you have any constructive criticism or ideas, drop me a review or a PM.**

 **Thanks to everyone who's been reading and stay tuned for the next chapter x**


	28. Chapter 28

**So this idea was given to me by Bethany on Chapter 9. I realise this is a little late but I couldn't think of the best time to include your idea, and this chapter seemed perfect to me. I hope you're still reading this because I'd just like to say thank you for your idea and I hope it's okay :-)**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Lily had been right. She felt absolutely exhausted the next morning. Iain had gone into work early and informed Connie of the situation with Lily's mum, knowing that Lily would somehow "forget" the conversation that they'd had last night and keep it all bottled up.

The meeting with the headteacher had gone well though, and she'd said how good Sonia, the school counsellor was with the children. Apparently a number of children at the school had seen her for various reasons; illnesses, disabilities, home problems. She helped them through play therapy, something that Lily had often admired and wondered about. After a long and quite emotional chat, Lily was pleased to hear that both girls had a scheduled appointment with Sonia first thing on Monday morning.

She arrived at work later than she'd officially wanted and was shocked to see Connie and Elle waiting outside, as if they were waiting for her. When they spotted Lily, Elle went inside, whilst Connie began to make her way towards Lily.

"Come here, you," she sighed, holding her arms out and giving her a big hug. "Alright? Bad weekend?"

Lily nodded, sniffing and wiping her nose on the sleeve of her coat.

"We'll go to my office," Connie whispered. "Don't cry, okay? How did the meeting at school go?"

"Good," Lily sobbed out. She hated the fact that she'd been getting so emotional lately. "They're seeing the counsellor on Monday. She seems nice, she'd called Sonia, and she does play therapy with the children."

"That's brilliant," Connie said, giving Lily's arm a comforting rub. "If only adult counselling sessions were that fun, eh?"

"If only," Lily repeated, laughing slightly.

Connie grinned and pushed the door open to her office. She placed a hand on Lily's back and took her inside, before quietly shutting the door behind her. Lily kept her hands in her pockets and adjusted the glasses on her face, smiling awkwardly at Connie.

"So, Iain spoke to me this morning," she whispered, leaning back against her desk. "Couple of weeks?" Lily faintly nodded, head hung with her eyes on the floor. "Lily," she whispered, feeling so incredibly sorry for her that she could hardly explain it.

Before Lily could even say anything else, she broke down in floods of tears. Connie sighed, holding back her own tears, whilst gesturing for Lily to give her a hug. Crying loudly, Lily fell into her arms and clung to her as if it was the first hug that she'd had in years.

"Alright," Connie whispered, just allowing Lily to cry as much as she needed to. "It's okay, let it out."

"I...I thought you told me not to cry," Lily sobbed into her blouse, quickly wiping away a few of her tears.

"That was before," Connie said, offering Lily a tissue from the box that she kept on her desk. "You're allowed to cry, everyone does it."

The door opened and Elle walked in, surprised to see Lily in tears.

"Not now, Doctor Gardner," Connie whispered, shaking her head at her. "Please."

"Of course," Elle said. "I'll um...I'll talk to you later," she said, before walking out.

"Okay honey," Connie said quietly, lifting Lily's head to try and get her to look at her. "Sit on the sofa for me, yeah?" Lily nodded, walking over and throwing herself onto the sofa. "Good girl. Now, I'm going to have a chat with Ben and see if he could see you this week."

"Okay," Lily whispered.

"Do the girls know?" Connie asked.

"I haven't spoken to them," Lily said, hiccuping slightly between sobs. "It's Saffron's birthday soon as well. I...I want Mum to stick around for that."

"Is it?" Connie's eyes widened. "And she'll be nine, right?" Lily nodded, smiling at the fact that Connie had remembered the age of her sisters. "Ah, lucky guess. What will you be doing for it? Any ideas?"

"I don't know," Lily said. "Money's tight. Um...I was thinking of a party at Build a Bear, because that's her favourite shop."

"Grace used to like it there too," Connie said. "Well, I don't mind chipping in and I'm sure Iain will as well."

"You don't have to," Lily said. "Personally, a party at Build a Bear is a nightmare for me. It'll make Saffron happy though, right?"

"Come on, surely you had a love for teddy bears when you were her age," Connie teased. "You'll have fun. It's a well-known fact that adults often have just as much fun as the kids at these parties."

"Not really," Lily said, shrugging her shoulders. "I find it hard to have fun anyway, because I'm always worrying if the girls are having enough fun. I'm more focused on them. I never did the usual kid things because I was always working hard for good grades, and now that I am doing them I...I don't enjoy them because it's to make the girls happy."

"I still have some of Grace's old toys at home," Connie said. "I should bring them in, and we could have a playdoe session or something in my office. It'll do you good to have some fun without thinking of Saffron and Courtney."

"No way," Lily had to laugh. "I'd feel silly."

"Nonsense, I think you'd enjoy it," Connie said. "It'll do you good to let your hair down."

Lily smiled weakly, a few tissues clutched in her hands.

"What am I going to do, Connie?" She then asked, shaking her head. "I can't lose my mum as well. I feel like I'm not strong enough."

"You are," she whispered. "You've come this far, and you always knew that your mum's illness was terminal right?"

"But in a few weeks, she won't be here," Lily said, her tears starting to fall again. "I never thought that it would happen so soon. I'm not even in my thirties yet; none of my parents will ever see my wedding, or the birth of their grandkids, or anything. I've let them down, I should have done all of this sooner."

"You haven't let them down," Connie said. "Time is a funny thing and it's something that you can't change or stop. No one knows how long their parents will be around for, and sometimes finding love and having kids happens later on in life. It never means that it's too late though, and all this time your father has been looking down on you and he's proud Lily. And when the time does come, your mum will do the same. I guarantee it."

Lily sniffed and listened as Connie spoke, her eyes on the floor the whole time.

"You have people who love you though," Connie said. "Myself, Elle and Charlie, Ethan, Alicia, Gem, Iain, and those two little girls who look up to you and admire you. They need their sister, don't they?"

Lily faintly nodded.

"And if I'm autistic, like Saffron?" She asked. "Most people get diagnosed and they have their parents there to help them and support them. My parents will never know, and that hurts me Connie."

"But you can tell them, and they'll listen," Connie said.

"What?" Lily frowned at her.

"I still talk to my dad," Connie said. "All the time. I tell him how Grace is doing, I tell him if I've had a bad day, and I even told him about Jacob. It might sound silly but it comforts me, and inside I know that he's listening."

"When will my first appointment be?" Lily asked.

"Soon," she sighed, patting her on the back. "It's a long process and there are just a few last minute checks that we need to go over. Why?"

"I'm just scared," Lily said. "If...If um...I do get a diagnosis."

"That's only natural," Connie said. "But as I said before, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Even if you do have it, it's got to be very very mild. You will still be able to live a completely independent life."

"I guess," Lily said, giving a small shrug of the shoulders.

There was another pause.

"Do...Do you think my father is waiting for her?" Lily asked.

"I think he is," Connie whispered. "And then the two of them will watch over their three little girls, feeling proud of you for staying strong and keeping the family going."

"Thank you, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily whispered back. "And it might sound daft, but you've always been kind of like a second mum to me."

"That doesn't sound daft at all," Connie laughed, placing an arm around her. "Feeling a bit better?" She asked, and Lily nodded. "Good. I'll talk to Ben, check on the progress of getting you that appointment, and I'll bring that playdoe in tomorrow."

Lily just laughed and shook her head, as Connie gave her another hug. She looked up and noticed that Iain was stood outside, smiling proudly at her through the window. Lily didn't say a word but quickly returned the smile to him and mouthed a small 'thank you.'

 **Whoa, two chapters of the same story in one day. I hope you liked it :-) x**


	29. Chapter 29

**CasualtyFanForever81: I'm really sorry I haven't updated in a while. Enjoy the update.**

 **Bethany: That's good to hear, thank you :-)**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Connie hadn't been joking when she said about bringing playdoe in.

Lily found it a bit weird at first and the only thing she really wanted to do was work and treat patients, just like she was supposed to. After a while though, she seemed to be enjoying herself and it was a great way to take her mind off of everything that had been happening.

"So, what are you making?" Connie asked, as the two of them sat in the office.

"I'm not sure," Lily sighed, squeezing a huge lump of playdoe between her fingers. "Saffron and Courtney would love this."

"Just forget about the girls for the time being, okay?" Connie said. "This is your time. You need a break."

"I just feel bad," Lily whispered. "Like I shouldn't be having fun without them."

"Don't be silly," Connie sighed. "You're allowed Lily, it's not illegal." She smiled kindly at her and Lily faintly nodded, as she continued to fiddle with the playdoe. "So, this build a bear party? Do you really want to do that?"

"Saffron would love it," Lily said. "Apart from Peppa Pig, it's like her favourite thing in the world. I was planning on inviting the kids in her class and we'd go to Pizza Hut afterwards, but I'm not even sure now."

"Why?" Connie asked her.

"It's a lot of money," Lily said. "I've got to pay for bills and food, and...Mum's funeral for when the time comes. Besides, how can I throw a birthday party for her when Mum is in hospital. It's not fair."

"Your mum would want you to have the party," Connie said. "For Saffron's sake. She'll grow up fast Lily, and you'll soon wish that you did all of these things when you could."

"It's just expensive," Lily said quietly, holding up a playdoe dog that she'd made for Courtney.

"Well, I am willing to contribute," Connie said. "I did say, didn't I? Those girls are lovely and Saffron deserves to have a good party for her birthday. I don't mind Lily, and I don't want you feeling bad about it either."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Positive," Connie said. "Are you taking her to visit your mum on her birthday?"

"I don't know." Lily gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "I don't want to upset her. Then again, it'll be her last birthday with her."

"Do what you think is best," Connie advised. "However, it might be nice for the girls to see her one last time."

"I guess," Lily whispered, determined not to cry. "What do you think anyway?" She asked, referring to the dog that she'd just made for the youngest. "It's for Courtney. She loves animals and she loves playdoe as well."

"I love that," Connie said. "I'm sure she will as well."

"I might make a pig for Saffron," Lily said. "Because of Peppa Pig. I don't want her to feel left out."

"You really do find it hard to take your mind off those girls, don't you?" Connie sighed.

She loved how kind Lily was to the girls, and how much she cared about them. However, she'd planned the activities so that Lily didn't need to be constantly worrying about someone else.

"After this," Connie said, as Lily began to make a pig for Saffron. "I think we should play a quick game and then we better get to work."

"That depends," Lily sighed, but she was smiling. She set the little playdoe dog on Connie's desk, reminding herself to take it home to Courtney at the end of her shift. "What game?"

"I have a selection," Connie said. "Take your pick."

* * *

"How was your day today?" Iain asked, as he and Lily lay in bed together that evening.

Gem was in her room, probably listening to her music, and Courtney and Saffron were both fast asleep in their beds. Lily was pleased to have a bit of time with her boyfriend for what felt like the first time in ages. Her arm draped across his stomach and her head rested against his bare chest wearily. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of his heavy breathing in her ear.

"It was okay," Lily told him. "Yours?"

"Yeah, good," Iain said with a small sigh. "Busy though. Did you have fun with Mrs Beauchamp?"

"I did actually," Lily said. "It was all a bit weird at first, but I soon started to enjoy myself."

"It'll do you good to have some fun without the girls for a change," Iain said. "I love you so much, Lily."

"I love you too," Lily said, as he ran his hand up and under her shirt. "What are you doing?" She giggled.

"It's okay," he whispered softly in her ear. "The girls are asleep."

"But Gem isn't," Lily hissed. "Besides, what if they wake up?"

"They won't," he said. "Come on Lily. Please. Besides, it won't even matter."

Lily's eyes widened and she bit her lip to try and stop herself from laughing loudly.

"What do you mean it won't matter?" She asked. "Of course it will."

"When I was a child, I walked in on my parents having sex," Iain mentioned. "And I turned out just fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Lily teased, giving him a playful slap on the shoulder. "I'd rather not have the talk with my sisters just yet if that's okay with you, they're still very young."

"Well, you'd just have to be quiet then," Iain said, slowly and carefully pulling Lily's shirt up and over her head. "Come on. You want this, right?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded, locking eyes with her boyfriend and smiling lovingly at him. "I do."

 **Sorry I haven't updated in a while guys. As I mentioned in another story, I've not been feeling too good and a lot of personal stuff has happened recently. Enjoy the chapter though and I'll try and update when I can x**


	30. Chapter 30

**casualtyfics111: Thank you so much! I love your stories as well :-) x**

Chapter Thirty

Saffron's birthday party was a big hit.

Connie had kept her word by putting some money towards it, which Lily had been extremely grateful for. She'd also sent a donation bucket round the hospital, which Iain didn't even know about, let alone Lily. She felt guilty but everyone had reassured her that they wanted Saffron to have the best birthday ever.

"Lily, I want this one!" Saffron squealed, rushing over to her big sister with a blue bunny rabbit.

"You want that one?" Lily asked gently, pulling her onto her lap. "Are you sure?" Saffron nodded. "Okay, what are you going to name her?"

"I don't know," Saffron giggled, holding the floppy animal to her chest.

"Well, we'll just have to think of a good name together won't we?" Lily said.

She smiled and kissed her sister on the forehead, whilst glancing around the busy store. It was packed out with staff from the ED, Saffron and Courtney's school friends, and tonnes of other kids who were there shopping with their families. Lily felt pleased that she'd been able to give Saffron the party that she wanted.

"So, how old are you now Saffron?" Lily asked her.

"Nine!" Saffron screamed so loudly, that the whole store turned to stare at them.

"Ssshh," Lily hushed her. "But that's right. You're a big girl now, aren't you?"

"Lily!" Courtney's voice was heard and Lily looked up to see her running over to them.

One of her friends, Hannah was at her side and they both held a brown dog that had now been stuffed and dressed. Gem was following them and Lily mouthed a thank you to her, grateful that she'd helped whilst she was with Saffron.

"This is Bowser!" Courtney shouted, holding out the dog. "Hannah has the same one."

"He's lovely," Lily said, pretending to kiss the dog for her sister's sake. "And what is yours called, Hannah?"

"Bowser," Hannah giggled.

"They wanted the exact same as each other," Gem laughed, standing awkwardly with her hands in her pockets.

"Well, they can be twins," Lily said with a smile. "Are you two having a good time anyway?" Hannah and Courtney both nodded in excitement, and started to make their dogs talk to each other. "Good. Saffron and I better go and get this bunny rabbit a heart then, huh?"

"It needs to be stuffed first," Gem said. "First time buying a build a bear, Lily?"

"Do I look like the sort of person who does this a lot?" Lily laughed, lifting Saffron into her arms and struggling because of how big she was. "Come on trouble." She carried Saffron over to where Connie and Iain sat and placed her down on the floor.

Saffron gripped her rabbit and took hold of Lily's hand, giggling and looking around at the playful children.

"Are you not off having fun, Saffron?" Iain asked, but he received no response from her. "Okay," he laughed, shaking his head at Lily.

"She doesn't tend to play with other children that much," Lily whispered. "I thought inviting the kids from her class would help, but maybe I was wrong."

"I'm sure she'll join in soon enough," Connie said. "Do you want me to take her for a while? It will give you a break."

"Do you know how it works?" Lily asked, as Connie held out a gentle hand to the young girl.

"Grace used to be obsessed with this shop," Connie laughed, standing up and taking Saffron by the hand. "Shall we go and get some stuffing in your bunny rabbit? We could make it talk to you, couldn't we?"

"Yes," Saffron said, but didn't even look at Connie. "Lily, name!"

"She wants me to help her name it," Lily said to Connie, and gave Saffron's hair a stroke. "I'll be over in a little while, okay? I just need to talk to Iain. You be good for Connie."

Connie smiled and took Saffron over to get her bunny stuffed, talking to her and laughing with her the entire time. Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair, walking over and taking a seat on Iain's lap.

"How are you holding up, Chuckles?" Iain said, wrapping his arms around her and removing the hair from her sweaty face.

"Kids are exhausting," she joked. "But I'm okay. Saffron and Courtney look happy enough, don't they?"

"Yeah, they look as if they're having a blast," Iain said. "Don't worry too much, alright? Did you go and visit your mum on Saffron's birthday?"

"Yeah, we couldn't stay long though," Lily said, sniffing and leaning her head against her shoulder. "She was really tired, but she'd got Saffron this beautiful necklace. Personally, I think it's pretty expensive and delicate for a nine year old but Saffron liked it. I think she'd ordered it off of some website."

"That was nice of her," Iain said. "And at least the girls got to see her as well this time."

"Yeah," Lily sighed, a tiny yawn escaping her mouth. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise," he laughed. "But hey, I got you something for being such a good girl today."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lily laughed, slowly lifting her head.

Iain reached down and picked up a build-a-bear box. Lily eyed him suspiciously and slowly opened the box. Inside was a brown bear in a paramedics uniform. Lily smiled and almost squealed with delight when she saw it. Inside was a certificate, and Iain had gone and named it after him.

"Do you like it?" He asked. "Now you'll always have me there, if you need a cuddle and I'm not around."

"I love it, thank you so much," Lily said. "I can't believe they actually do paramedic uniforms here."

"I know, I couldn't quite believe it either."

Lily hugged the bear to her chest and leaned back against Iain, hoping that he wasn't being squished by her. He said that he was fine though, and just held onto her tightly. Soon enough, Saffron came bounding over with her bunny rabbit stuffed and in a ballerina dress. Connie followed, looking happy but exhausted.

"Right," Lily sighed. "Shall we go and name it then, princess? She looks beautiful, she does."

"Done!" Saffron giggled.

"Oh, yes." Connie nodded, sitting back down beside Iain. "We named her already."

"Really?" Lily frowned and turned back to address her sister. "What did you name your rabbit, princess?"

Saffron looked down at the rabbit in her hands and whispered, "Lily." She then looked up and made eye contact with her sister for what felt like the first time in ages. "After you."

 **So just a cute little chapter there. I am really sorry for not updating in ages, I wasn't planning on updating these stories to be honest due to personal reasons but I realised that I can't let them get to me. So, hopefully my updates will be a bit more frequent now.**

 **Apologies again and enjoy the chapter x**


	31. Chapter 31

**KimSeungSeung: Will do, thanks :-)**

 **MrsWhovian: Me too, I might have to go to Build a Bear and get myself one!**

Chapter Thirty-One

Lily woke up to the sound of her mobile. She groaned and yawned wearily, whilst rolling onto her back with a hand held to her head. It was two o'clock in the morning. Who on earth was phoning her? She sat upright and switched her bedside lamp on, taking a look at Iain who was sleeping soundly beside her. She yawned again and answered the phone, without even checking the caller ID.

"Hello," she mumbled. "Lily Chao speaking."

"Lily, it's Julie." Lily recognised the voice of the woman who took care of her mum. "I'm really sorry to wake you."

"It...It's okay." Immediately, nerves filled Lily and she gulped anxiously as terrible thoughts filled her mind. "Is...Is mum okay?"

Iain began to slowly wake up then. He winced as the light from the lamp hit him, and turned to look at Lily. Worry filled him and he climbed out of bed, grabbing his Batman dressing gown whilst flicking on the main light.

"I'm really sorry, Lily," Julie apologised. "Your mum passed away in the early hours of this morning. She went peacefully, no pain."

Lily just nodded as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't talk, not when she'd just found out that her mum had died. She sniffed and looked to Iain for help and he seemed to know what had happened straight away. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, slowly taking the phone out of her hand.

"Hello?" He spoke. "Hi, it's Iain. Sorry, do you want Lily to come down? Yeah, I don't mind bringing her." He stayed at her side, an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll look after her, don't worry."

"The girls," Lily sobbed out, her hands in her lap.

"Thank you," Iain said, quickly hanging up the phone. "Okay, sweetheart, come here," Iain soothed, pulling her in for a hug. He thought that it would be insensitive to use the nickname 'Chuckles' on her at that time. "Come on, I'll take you down eh?"

"The girls," Lily repeated. "They can't go. It'll only upset them."

"I'm sure Gem will look after them," he whispered, cupping her face in his hands. "Hey, your mum had a good life and she'd be extremely proud of you. I promise."

Lily just burst into tears, attempting to wipe away each and every tear that fell. "She's gone," she cried into his chest, clinging onto the ends of his dressing gown. "I've always dreaded this time, Iain."

There was a gentle knock on the door and Gem popped her head round.

"Courtney's had a nightmare," she whispered, chewing on the inside of her mouth nervously. "What's happened?"

Iain cleared his throat and continued to rub Lily's back. "Their mum's died," was all he said to his sister.

* * *

"Lily, you shouldn't be here," Iain yelled, as he hurried after his girlfriend.

It was nine o'clock and Lily had been at the hospice since half two. However, now she was storming towards the entrance of the ED with Saffron and Courtney either side of her. Courtney had her thumb in her mouth and Saffron was clutching her new toy from 'Build a Bear.' They were both in school uniform, but school had already started and Lily didn't seem to have any intention of sending them.

"Lily, Mrs Beauchamp will understand," Iain told her. "You shouldn't be here, and neither should the girls. Just come home."

"No," Lily sobbed, keeping tight hold of their hands. "I have to work."

She caught sight of Connie who was standing by the reception desk with Elle. Immediately, the clinical lead spotted the girls and told Elle to wait so that she could deal with the situation. She walked over to Lily and cleared her throat before speaking.

"What are they doing here?" She asked.

"Connie," Iain whispered.

"Hold on." Connie held a hand up to the paramedic and kept her voice calm and gentle. "Lily, the ED is no place for them. Why aren't they at school?" Tears began to prick Lily's eyes again and she burst into tears right there, in front of Connie. "Lily, what's wrong?" She turned to where Elle was still standing and saw that Duffy had shown up. Just the right person for the job. "Duffy, come here for a second!" She shouted.

"What is it, Connie?" The nurse asked, walking over and shooting smiles at the two young girls. "Hello, little ones. This is a nice surprise, isn't it?"

"Could you take them to the staffroom or something?" Connie asked. "I need to have a word with Lily, and I don't think they should be here."

"What do you want me to do with them exactly?" Duffy questioned.

"Anything, there's playdoe in my office," Connie said. "Just take them."

"Okay, come with me girls," Duffy said.

Saffron anxiously took Duffy's hand, whilst Courtney held back and looked towards Lily with worried eyes. "Lily?" She whispered.

"Your sister's fine, Courtney," Iain said, walking over and crouching beside the small girl. "Connie and I just need to have a chat with her, alright? You go and play with Duffy, she'll look after you."

"G...Go," Lily sobbed out, her hands held to her face.

Courtney nodded and took Duffy's other hand. Duffy smiled and nodded at Connie, before taking Courtney and Saffron along to the staffroom. Connie sighed and turned back to Lily, comfortingly rubbing small circles up and down her back to try and calm her.

"We'll go to my office, Iain can come as well," she whispered. "Is it your mum?"

"She...She's gone," Lily cried, as she and Iain walked with Connie to her office.

"Oh, come on," Connie quickly took Lily inside and gestured for her to sit down on the sofa. "Iain, go and get her a drink," Connie said and Iain nodded, before quickly walking back out. "Alright, sweetheart, look at me. Come on, you just let it out. When did it happen?"

"This morning," Lily choked out, as Connie held her close to her. "I woke up and my phone was ringing."

"Do the girls know?" She asked, but Lily shook her head against her. "You shouldn't be here, and they shouldn't be going to school. You need to tell them."

"I can't," Lily cried.

"Surely, they can already tell that something's wrong," Connie said. "And they'll need to know, Lily. It's their mum as well." She reached across and picked up a box of tissues that were sitting on her desk. "Come on, dry your eyes."

"I wish I was still Courtney's age," Lily cried. "It's so easy for them. They didn't have to receive that call, they don't need to arrange the funeral, they've just been taken off to play games whilst I have to talk about it. I hate it."

"Adulting is hard, huh?" Connie sighed.

"Yeah." Lily nodded, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. "It is. I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"I know, sweetheart," Connie comforted. "I can help you tell the girls."

Lily didn't say anything, but gripped a wet tissue in her hands. The door opened and Iain walked in with a cup of tea for his girlfriend. He walked over and kissed her temple, before handing her the mug.

"Julie said that...That she wasn't in pain," Lily said, sipping at her tea.

"Well, that's good," Connie said, rubbing at her arm.

Lily nodded and turned to address Iain. "Could you go and make sure that the girls are okay, please?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Iain reassured her. "But you need to just focus on yourself for a moment, okay?"

"But I need to make sure that they're okay," Lily cried. "I can wait."

"Iain," Connie whispered, nodding at him over Lily's head.

"If that'd help," Iain said, gently squeezing Lily's arm. "I'll go and check on them, for five minutes, and then I'll be back to see you. I love you." Lily nodded and gave him a smile, as Iain kissed her cheek. "Look after her, Mrs Beauchamp."

"I always do," Connie said, as Iain left the office. "You and those girls, Lily," she sighed. "You're constantly putting them first, aren't you?"

"They're my sisters, I love them," Lily whispered. "I want to make sure that they're okay."

"I know, but you're upset as well," Connie said, gently stroking at her hair. "Do you need anything?"

"No, but maybe I could play with the playdoe later as well," Lily suggested.

"You'll have to fight the girls for it," Connie laughed, wrapping an arm around her. "Alright now?" Lily's smile soon faded and she just shook her head, wiping away the remains of her tears. "I'm here for you, you know?" Connie said, as she hugged her.

Lily kept her fingers curled around her warm mug and nodded, another tear trickling down one side of her face.

"Listen," Connie whispered to her. "My office door is always open if you need me."

 **Sorry I haven't updated in ages. A bit of a sad chapter but I hope you liked it. I've posted a new story called Golden Silence, so check it out if you want to :-) x**


	32. Chapter 32

**casualtyfics111: Thanks so much, sorry it took a while! Enjoy the update :-)**

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lily still couldn't believe that her mum was gone, and she had no idea how she was going to cope. She knew that Iain would help her, and Gem and Connie had offered as well, but it just didn't seem enough.

She was alone now, in Connie's office, and she was desperately trying to think of the best words to say to Saffron and Courtney. They were so young, and they'd just lost their mum. It wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

Connie and Iain then walked into the office. Saffron ran ahead but Iain held Courtney in her arms, and the youngster looked as if she'd been crying already. Iain Lily a comforting smile and gently set Courtney down onto her lap. Lily kissed the little girl's head and pulled her in close for a hug, as Saffron climbed up onto the sofa beside them. She had her thumb in her mouth, something that she usually did when she was upset or scared.

"Are you girlies okay?" Lily asked them in a quiet voice.

Courtney nodded against her chest. Saffron stayed silent, and Connie grabbed Lily a quick glass of water. Iain sat on the other side of Lily and kissed her cheek. Lily mouthed a small 'I'm okay' at him, and he replied with a smile.

"I need to talk to you both about something," Lily said, resting her head against Courtney's. "You know that mummy has been very sick, right?"

"Is she okay?" Courtney whispered. "You were really sad."

"The thing is, a very kind doctor rang me this morning," Lily said, as more tears formed in her eyes. "And mummy has had to go to heaven."

"But why?" Courtney asked.

"Because she's needed there," Lily said. "Heaven will help mummy and it will make her better."

"Oh." Courtney began to fiddle with strands of Lily's hair. "So when is she coming back?"

"She won't be, sweetie," Lily said, looking towards Saffron who didn't seem to be paying much attention. "Heaven is where she belongs now."

"Can we visit her?" Courtney then asked.

"Not until you're a lot older, I'm afraid," Lily said. "It's a very long way to go."

"Um...My...My teacher at school said that people grow a little bit older each day," Courtney said. "So tomorrow, I will be older. Can I visit her then?"

Lily shook her head sadly and held back the lump that had been formed. "No," she sobbed. "Not until you're older than mummy."

"That's a long time," Courtney whispered, and her smile faded. "You're crying again."

"I'm just going to miss her, that's all," Lily said.

"Me too," Courtney said, looking towards Saffron who was just swinging her legs and muttering to herself. "She doesn't understand, does she?" Courtney said, looking back to Lily.

"I'm sure she does," Lily sighed. "She probably just doesn't know what to do about it. You're a good sister to her, you know? I'm very, very proud of her."

"I love her," Courtney whispered.

Lily smiled and held Courtney close, whilst whispering, "Me too."

* * *

"Hey, you did well today," Iain whispered, as he and Lily lay in bed together that night.

Gem was already asleep, and so were Saffron and Courtney. It was one o'clock in the morning, and Lily and Iain were the only ones awake. Lily had had a hard time getting off to sleep, and Iain didn't exactly want to leave her after everything that had happened.

"I'm proud of you," he added.

"Thanks," Lily whispered back, as she slowly rolled over to face him. "What am I going to do, Iain? I have the girls, Mrs Beauchamp still wants me to see this specialist, and both of my parents are dead."

"You'll manage," Iain said, reaching across to give her cheek a gentle stroke. "I believe in you."

"Iain, how do you cope without your parents?" Lily asked.

Iain knew that it wasn't the same thing. His mum was still alive and he could still see her whenever he wanted, if he wanted. His relationship with his mum was complicated, nothing like the relationship that Lily had had with hers.

"I guess I just do," he whispered. "It used to be hard, but it does get better. I wouldn't lie to you, Lily."

"Saffron's only going to get worse," Lily told him.

"I'll help you," he said. "I'm your boyfriend now, it's what boyfriends are there for. Why don't you try and get some sleep, hmm? You were up early this morning, and you've had a tiring day."

"You won't go anywhere, will you?" Lily asked. "Please."

"Don't worry." Iain gave her a smile, and gently stroked her hair. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, yeah?"

Lily let out a small sigh and whispered, "I love you. I'm really lucky to have you."

"I love you too," Iain said. "Look, get a proper sleep and don't worry about the girls in the morning. Mrs Beauchamp has given us the time off, so I'll contact the school and make them some breakfast. You don't need to worry about a thing."

"Are you sure?" Lily questioned quietly.

"Positive," Iain said.

Iain stayed awake for a little while longer, watching as his girlfriend closed her eyes to try and get some sleep. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through, and seeing her so upset really hurt him. He wished that he could do something.

All he could do though, was be there and help support her with the girls.

 **So, this story will be ending soon unfortunately. I hope you've enjoyed it though :-) x**


	33. Chapter 33

**Scarlett: Unfortunately, it will have to :-(**

Chapter Thirty-Three

About a month after the funeral, Lily was diagnosed with mild Aspergers Syndrome.

She had to admit that she was upset by the news, and scared, but it did explain a few things. She just wished that she'd been diagnosed with it when she'd been Saffron's age. Then she would have had the proper help, and she would have coped at school better. Instead, she had to get told when she was in her late twenties.

"It can be hard to diagnose," Iain said, as he pushed Courtney on the swings at the park.

Lily faintly nodded, as she stood nearby and held Saffron's hand. Saffron just stood silently with her ice-cream cone, watching her younger sister squeal in delight as she got higher and higher.

"Still, it doesn't matter that you have it," he said. "It makes you special, and you've got it very mildly anyway. You can still live an independant life."

"I guess so," Lily whispered, shrugging her shoulders.

Courtney then started calling for Iain to get her down, so he stopped and gently lifted her out of the swing. She then rushed off to play on the slide, immediately beginning to chat away to a few other kids.

"Be careful!" Lily called over to her.

"How are you doing anyway?" Iain asked, strolling over and crouching down in front of Saffron. "How are the girls doing?"

"As good as I can be, I suppose," Lily answered. "I just miss our mum, like I still can't believe she's gone." Iain nodded, looking up at her with sympathetic eyes. "And the girls have been pretty upset too. Courtney's started acting up at school now. They're seeing the play therapist at least once a week, but I don't think it's helping."

"They've lost their mum at an extremely young age," Iain said, planting a delicate kiss on Lily's cheek. "Why don't you talk to them?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," Lily whispered.

"I can help," Iain said. "And I'm sure Connie will as well. They're bright kids Lily, I think they know what's happened. Maybe talking to them as if Heaven was a place that people can visit wasn't the best idea." Lily still didn't look too sure. "They're kids, Lily. They're bound to ask questions, and that's okay."

"Yeah," Lily whispered, and faintly nodded at Iain. "Okay."

* * *

"Okay girls, do you know why we need to talk to you?" Lily asked.

She was sat at a table with Iain and Connie. Saffron and Courtney were sat opposite them, Courtney clutching her cuddly dog that she'd got at Saffron's Build a Bear party. Lily was glad to have Connie and Iain there to help her out, she had no idea what she was going to say to her sisters.

"Are we going somewhere?" Courtney yelled. "Are we going to see mummy?"

"Mummy!" Saffron shouted.

Courtney began to jump up and down in her seat, waving the dog in Lily's face. Lily winced and pushed her away, shaking her head and trying her best to calm her down. Connie could see that she was getting in a state and stood up to yank the dog from Courtney's grasp.

"That's mine!" Courtney yelled.

"And I'm borrowing it for a little bit," Connie said. "You can have it back after our chat."

"You're supposed to be the sensible one," Lily hissed at her little sister. "Saffron doesn't know any better, does she? You should be setting a good example."

Courtney's lower lip wobbled and she folded her arms across the table. "You used to be nice," she whispered. "But you've changed since mummy went away. I don't like it."

Lily sighed and looked to Iain, who was watching them with sympathetic eyes. He reached across and gave her hand a comforting rub, but she pulled away from him. She sniffed and hung her head so that no one was able to see her tears, and the atmosphere was suddenly awkward and quiet.

"Courtney, that wasn't a very nice thing to say to your sister, was it?" Connie said, as she towered above the young girl. "Say sorry to her."

"But she's different now," Courtney muttered under her breath.

"Say sorry," Connie whispered. "Lily might be an adult but she misses your mum as well, and even adults get upset sometimes. She's done a brilliant job at looking after you two, and she hasn't had a very easy time herself."

Courtney nodded and lifted her head slowly, whilst whispering, "I'm sorry, Lily."

"It's okay," Lily whispered back, fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair.

"Good girl," Connie praised Courtney, and ruffled her hair. "Now, what is this little guy called again?" She asked, gesturing to the dog.

"Bowser," Courtney answered.

"Okay. Well, Bowser is going to help me with something," Connie said. "He's going to sit over here with me for a little while, and then he's going to go round the table. Whoever is holding Bowser is the only person allowed to speak."

"But Bowser doesn't like anyone else holding him," Courtney said.

"Oh, but today he does," Connie said. "Because he wants you, Saffron, and Lily to be happy." She glanced across at Lily, who seemed to be smiling and leaning her head against Iain's shoulder. "So, why don't I hand him over to Lily first? Then she can talk to you."

Courtney nodded and stuck her thumb into her mouth, as Connie reached across the table to hand the cuddly dog to Lily. Lily couldn't help but feel silly, as if she was back in primary school, but it was for the girls, not her.

"You've both been acting up at school for the last couple of weeks," Lily whispered, keeping her head hung. "Which is unacceptable."

"I hate school!" Saffron suddenly yelled out, digging her fingernails into the table.

"Sweetheart, it's Lily's turn to talk," Connie said, lifting Saffron out of her chair and pulling her onto her lap. "Hey. Why don't you sit with me? You can say something soon if you want to."

"Listen," Lily gulped nervously and clutched Bowser for some kind of comfort. "Mum isn't coming back, and I hate that just as much as you two. You can't be naughty girls though because she wouldn't want you to be. We all need to help each other right now."

"So I can't go and see her?" Courtney asked in a quiet voice.

"No, sweetheart, you can't," Lily whispered.

"Shall we use Bowser?" Connie asked. "Courtney, have you got some questions for Lily?" Courtney smiled and nodded. "Go on then."

Lily passed Bowser across to her sister, and Courtney gave him a quick hug before talking.

"Well done," Iain said to Lily, and kissed her cheek.

"Am I like Saffron too?" Courtney asked.

"What?" Lily frowned, as Iain gave her back a comforting rub. "Courtney, what do you mean?"

"Well, you told me once that you were like Saffron," Courtney said. "Does that mean I'm like Saffron?"

"No, Courtney, it doesn't." Lily shook her head, a small sigh escaping her lips. "I have very mild Aspergers, and Saffron has it a bit more severely, but you don't. I don't want you to worry about that, alright?" Courtney nodded. "And I'm fine, honestly. Now, are there any questions about Mum?"

"I just want to see her," Courtney whispered.

"We can visit her grave," Lily said. "And you can talk to her."

"Will she be lonely?" Courtney asked. "Should I give Bowser to her?"

"No, darling." Lily shook her head. "Mummy would want you to keep Bowser. He's your best friend, isn't he? We can take flowers though and you can draw her a nice picture, she always liked your pictures."

"Okay," Courtney whispered, and she looked a little bit happier. "Saffron can have Bowser now, so she can talk."

Saffron struggled in Connie's arms, and reached her small hands out so that she could take Bowser. She laughed and began to play with him, poking his soft tummy and waving him around by his paw.

"You'll hurt him!" Courtney squealed.

"Sssh, Saffie," Connie said, pushing her arms back down to her side. Lily liked how good Connie was with her. "Do you want to ask any questions about your mummy? Do you understand what's happened?"

"M...Mummy used to...Used to give us cookies," Saffron said. "Chocolate chip!"

Lily laughed and nodded in agreement. "She did give you and Courtney cookies, didn't she?" She said, praising her sister. "Well done Saffron, that was a very good memory. I liked that about her too."

"I think we all should go out for dinner anyway," Iain said, his arm still around Lily. "Because I think you all need a treat."

Courtney and Saffron began squealing, but Lily just shrugged her shoulders and told Iain that he didn't have to do that. They were low on money and she really needed to keep it aside for emergencies, besides the girls had already had a long day.

"We won't be out for long," Iain told her. "And it's my treat anyway. You all deserve it."

"Thanks," Lily whispered.

"Mrs Beauchamp, are you in?" Iain turned to address the clinical lead. Saffron remained on her lap.

"Sure," Connie laughed, as she smiled proudly at Lily and the young girls. "I'm in."

 **Probably only one more chapter to go. Thanks to everyone who's been reading x**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Do you think my parents are proud of me?"

Lily knelt on the grass, in front of the patch where her parents were both buried. During her illness, Li Na's wish had always been to be buried alongside her husband. Despite feeling sad, Lily was pleased that her parents were now together.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Iain towering above her. She smiled, glad that he was there, and patted the space on the grass beside her. Iain didn't hesitate to kneel down, even though it had been raining in the night.

"Of course they are," he answered her. "You've done really well for yourself, Lily. And you've looked after those little girls, haven't you?"

"But I feel like I've failed," Lily whispered. "I used to leave them home alone, and..."

"Hey, you were struggling," Iain said, reaching out and giving her hand a squeeze. "But you haven't failed. There's a difference. Saffron and Courtney love you, and you're a great big sister to them. If anyone tells you differently, don't believe them."

"You're the best," Lily whispered. "I really miss them though."

"You will do," Iain said. "Of course you will. They're your parents."

"I just...It's hard..." Lily stuttered. "I...I now have this...This condition, and so does Saffron, and...I don't know how I'm going to cope."

"You have me, and Mrs Beauchamp," Iain comforted. "You'll be fine, Lily."

Lily nodded and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful, caring, and understanding boyfriend. A squeal was heard from behind them, and Lily lifted her head to look across at her sisters. The two of them were sat on a patch of grass, laughing and making daisy chains.

"Maybe I should have sent them to school," Lily said.

"No, Lily." Iain shook his head. "It's the anniversary of your mum's death."

"But they don't even care," Lily pointed out, gesturing to them.

"They're just kids," Iain said. "And you know Saffron doesn't do well at showing her emotions." He sighed and followed Lily's eyes. "Saffron! Courtney! Come over here for a second!"

Courtney stood up, took hold of Saffron's hand, and the two of them made their way over to Iain and Lily.

"Were you two playing nicely?" Iain asked, pulling Courtney onto his lap. "You're such good girls. Look, this is where we buried your mummy, right next to your daddy. Do you want to say hello to her?"

"Will she actually hear us?" Courtney asked.

"Of course she will," Lily whispered. "She hears everything that you say Courtney, and she sees everything as well. That's why I'm always telling you to behave."

Courtney giggled, leaning herself against Iain's chest.

"I miss her," Courtney said. "Saffron does as well."

"Did she tell you that?" Lily asked, gesturing for Saffron to give her a hug.

Saffron jumped over and threw herself onto Lily. Lily winced slightly, seeing as Saffron was close to double figures and growing taller by the second, so she wasn't the lightest of children.

"No." Courtney shook her head. "I can just tell. I'm hungry, can we go to McDonalds for tea?"

"Courtney, we always go to McDonalds," Lily sighed. "I need to start cooking for you girls."

"You can," Courtney said. "After we have McDonalds."

"Oh, look at you," Lily laughed. "I suppose we can go, just this once."

"Are you coming too, Iain?" Courtney asked hopefully, staring up at him with a pair of pleading eyes.

"I think I could squeeze it into my busy schedule," Iain joked. "But first, I need to ask your beautiful big sister a very important question."

Lily was in the middle of stroking Saffron's hair, but she slowly turned and gave Iain a puzzling look when he said that. She frowned and shook her head, confused by what he needed to ask her.

"Don't look so worried," he chuckled. "But we've been dating for a long time now, haven't we?" Lily nodded, wrapping her arms around Saffron's waist for some kind of comfort. "I really love you Lily, and I've realised that you're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"I love you too," Lily whispered, smiling faintly.

"So..." Iain reached into his pocket and bulled out a small box.

Lily took a deep breath, whilst Courtney gasped dramatically and slapped her hands to her mouth. Even at such a young age she knew what she was doing, she'd seen Chandler do it on an episode of Friends and it had inspired her to play proposals and weddings at school with her friends. For someone who was such a little tomboy, she was a complete girly-girl at times as well.

"Lily Chao." Iain opened up the box, and there was a long and dramatic pause. "Will you marry me?"

"Are you joking?" Lily questioned him.

She found it extremely hard to tell whether people were joking or not, and she really hoped that Iain wouldn't joke about wanting to marry her.

"Come on, I wouldn't joke about something like this," Iain whispered. "I love you, and I want you to be my wife. I want you, Saffron, and Courtney to be my family. That's all I've ever wanted, Lily. What do you say?"

Lily nodded, her whole body shaking, as small tears formed in her eyes.

"Yes," she answered quietly. "I'll marry you."

Courtney practically squealed with excitement.

"Ssshh, Courtney!" Lily hissed. "We're in a churchyard, you need to be quiet."

"Sorry," Courtney apologised, and bit her lip. "Does this mean that I get to be a bridesmaid?"

"You and Saffron can both be bridesmaids," Lily promised, as Iain slipped the ring onto her finger. "Oh my gosh. Iain, it's beautiful. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Iain said. "We're all going to be one big happy family."

"I just want to thank you," Lily said. "For all your support over this past year. You've been amazing with me, my mum, and with the girls. They adore you, you know?"

"I adore them too," Iain said. "They're sweet kids."

"I can't believe that we're going to be married," Lily said. "I can't wait to tell everyone."

"Neither can I," Iain said. "And I'm so glad you said yes. I was so nervous."

Lily nodded and looked down at the grass sadly.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"I'm just sad that my parents won't be there to see me walk down the aisle," Lily whispered.

"But they will be there," Iain whispered back, and reached across to give her hand a gentle squeeze. "They'll be looking down on you, happy and proud of their eldest daughter."

"Think so?" Lily asked, as a mixture of sad and happy tears filled her eyes.

"I know so," Iain said, kissing her gently on the forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lily replied.

She locked eyes with Iain, and then looked down at the two little girls that sat near them. She loved them so much, and although looking after them had been tough, she'd also loved every minute of it.

It was that moment, as she sat with her sisters and her wonderful fiancé, that she realised something. She was finally happy, and happiness was something that she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

 **So that's the end of that story! I hope you enjoyed it. I felt as if it had come to an end anyway, but then I have plans for new stories as well which I wanted to post.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has read, favourited, followed, and reviewed. You're all amazing and your support has meant a lot x**


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